Changed by Leaves
by Nakira.Taisho
Summary: The new kid in Konoha, Yoru Yami...he's a mystery to most and one of the most popular guys in town. But could he have a secret? Naturally. Yami's real name is Yaya, do the math from there friend and read to see why she's pretending to be a guy. *EDITED!*
1. Info

**Changed by Leaves 0- Info**

Yoru Yaya is a former citizen of Kirigakure no Satou. At a young age, she was orphaned and grew up like an average jinchuriki, scorned and shunned by the villagers. She is the host of the Rokubi no Neko (Six tailed cat, AN-I don't know what forms any of the Bijuu actually have except for the few that are shown in the manga, so I'm just making that up as I go, I don't own it though!), and the seal is actually visible as a tattoo on her left arm-hence she wears a bandage to cover it-in the form of a deco cat face, and when it is opened, her eyes turn bright green and look more like cat eyes than human. She is average height, with short midnight blue hair, and black eyes. Wears a bandage over all of her left arm and hand, this also goes around her torso, as well as a bandage over her right leg. Normally wears loose black shirts and shorts, along with a Hitai-ate on her forehead.

She was not allowed to attend the local ninja academy, because the villagers feared her as the jinchuriki, even though she was the most talented child in the village. She surpassed even the strongest Jounin in Kirigakure without even attending academy or becoming a ninja. As per her abilities, she can control water and lightning freely, without having to channel chakra, and tends to make her attacks like that take the form of a cat. She is also able to turn into water freely. Is also skilled at Raiton and Suiton, as well as combining the two natures for more powerful attacks, all of which, she created herself. Is able to release the seal all the way without losing her consciousness and control over her body.

She can also breathe under water, if it is required for hiding or to rescue someone close to her. Her taijutsu style reflects her home village of Kirigakure and often integrates her ability to control water and lightning, as she often controls these elements from afar with taijutsu (Similar to the element bending from Avatar). Has also created her own unique and powerful jutsu using water and lightning combined, which she calls Suiraiki. This attack is similar in form to a combination of Chidori and Rasengan, though she has never seen either attack. It consists of a swirl of water formed from both the atmosphere and her own chakra, combined with lightning formed from chakra, which sparks and goes directly into the body of the opponent, overloading their system with water and then giving them an electric shock that is deadly. No one has survived this attack at full power, and survival with it at a lower level is rare.

At twelve, she was found by Akatsuki and pursued. After defeating one set of members that came after her, she disguised herself as a boy to remain hidden and fled from Kirigakure, ending up half dead in the forest of the Land of Fire. Kakashi found her there, brought her to Konoha, and she became a ninja, going by the name Yami. Her birthday is July twentieth.

Hyuuga Minako is Neji's older sister of two years. When she is introduced, she is 16, and is obviously related to Hinata, because she looks like an older version of her cousin. Minako is also more bold than her cousin, being rather pushy when she likes someone and unafraid of hurting someone's feelings with her opinions. She is also rather sensitive to things, and cries easily, despite her tough attitude and exterior. Her hair is waist length and she wears her Hitai-ate on her forehead. She wears tan mostly; a knee length slit skirt with net leggings underneath, and a halter top. She wears her hair in a bun most of the time and has two needles in her hair. Her birthday is August tenth.

Yoru Kai and Kohaku are twin brothers, and also Yaya's older brothers of two years, though none of them are aware of this fact. There is little difference in their appearance, the only difference being the length of their midnight blue hair. Kai's hair is shoulder length, while Kohaku's is waist length and worn in a loose ponytail. Both are skilled in Suiraiton, but have to channel chakra to control water and lightning. Both wear loose black clothes, like their sister. Kai is the only one that wears a bandage, which is around his left leg. Their birthday is September seventeenth.


	2. Arrival

**Changed by Leaves 1- Arrival**

"Crap." I fall forward and try to catch my breath. Damn it. I haven't eaten in a few days, and I've exhausted myself trying to hide from the Akatsuki. I don't even know if they're still following me. I manage to get up and start walking again. My bangs fall in my face and I brush them back. I like my hair long, but I had to cut it to disguise myself.

Agh. I lean on a branch and sigh. I'm not going to be able to get much farther like this. Huh? Someone…coming? Who? I won't be able to hide from them, whoever it is. _'__Gomen, Rokubi.'_ I pass out.

"Oy, you okay?" A man asks. I think he's talking to me. A woman sighs on my other side.

"Kakashi, are you sure he's still alive?" The man doesn't make a sound for a moment.

"Yea I'm sure, he's still breathing." What? Kakashi? Not the copy ninja? I manage to open my eyes and look around. "See?" The woman shakes her head.

"Cheeky." That's Kakashi the Copy Ninja all right. Where am I though? It looks like a hospital room…oh shit! I bolt upright and fall back down. Shit. That's all I have to say, shit.

"Whoa, calm down. When was the last time you ate anything?" I think about that for a moment.

"About…four days before I passed out…I think." Let's see, I fled the village with minimal supplies, I didn't even bring weapons, ran out of food shortly after hitting the mainland and the border of the Land of Fire, then I wandered through the forest trying to find Konoha, but kept getting lost and then passed out from exhaustion and hunger after four sunrises. "Yea, four days."

"So, five including the time you were unconscious." I was out for a whole day?

"Where am I anyways?"

"The Konohagakure hospital. What were you doing out there without food?"

"I…don't remember." Better to act like an amnesiac than tell the truth.

"You have a name?" I nod slightly. I need food. My stomach is still grumbling at an annoying level.

"Yoru Ya…mi. Yoru Yami." Yaya is definitely a girl's name; I would have trouble if I gave out my real name.

"Yoru?" I nod. There's nothing wrong with my last name. And I know for a fact that I'm not in any records. Because I'm not a Shinobi.

"Um…would it be possible for me to get some food?" Kakashi nods slightly and starts to get up.

"Oh right. I'll let someone know that you're awake." The woman growls at Kakashi.

"Konno yaro…did you forget that I'm in here, Kakashi?" That woman is kind of scary…and familiar! Oh shit. "I'm Namikaze Nai, by the way." Namikaze Nai…I know her from somewhere, I just can't place it.

Oh! A traveler from the Land of Fire a while back. No threat there. That's good. I only glimpsed her in the village then, and she probably didn't even see me. I manage to sit up as she leaves the room. On the bright side, I'm still safe. I'm wearing a hospital outfit, but it's obvious that I haven't been discovered.

"I've already talked with Hokage-sama about your living arrangements here. And also, once you're allowed to leave here, you'll start at the academy. There's only half a year left before the graduation exams, but I'm sure you can catch up." I nod slightly as Nai leaves the room.

"Okay. How did I get here?" Kakashi settles back into his seat.

"Nai-chan and I were on our way back to the village from a mission and we found you in the forest. Nai kept saying that she thought you were dead." For some reason, he seems to find that funny. He's chuckling.

'_Konno yaro! Someone almost dying isn't funny! You'll get it for that!'_ Rokubi…sometimes she can be so vocal and crazy. The door opens and Nai comes back in.

"Yami-kun! I brought you some food." I can smell it from here…fish!

'_Yum! Chanaro! Sakana da!'_ Internally, I sigh. Nai comes further into the room carrying a tray of food.

"I hope you like fish." I nod.

"I love fish, but I'm so hungry, I'd probably eat anything that wasn't poisonous." With my nose, I'd be able to figure out if it was poisonous. Nai laughs and sets a tray of food on my lap. I'm drooling. I locate the chopsticks and dig in. I'm glad I've been remembering to deepen my voice slightly. But then again, a lot of boys my age have kind of girlish voices, because they haven't quite hit puberty and their voices haven't deepened at all.

I finish the food and stare at the tray. My stomach is still grumbling. "Is it possible for me to have some more?" Nai chuckles.

"You shouldn't eat too much at one time right after going for so long without food. It'll over expand your stomach and kill you." I swallow.

"Then I can wait till later to eat." Nai smiles slightly and looks at Kakashi.

"Kakashi, we have things to be doing right now." He nods and gets up.

"Right. We'll come by later to see how you're doing." I nod.

"Thanks." Smiles…I've never had someone smile at me like they actually cared about me. Once they leave the room, I start crying. I wipe my eyes. "What am I crying for?" I have to stop this girly nonsense! I'm supposed to be a boy now…starting over. I wonder if all jinchuriki grow up like I did…lonely and shunned. I shake my head and get out of the bed. I stretch and test myself for a moment. "Perfect." My normal stamina is back. All I really needed was a good rest and a meal. Maybe the fact that someone actually acted like they cared about me for the first time in my life helped. Footsteps! I hurry to get back in the bed, sitting up.

"I heard from Kakashi-san that you were awake, Yoru-kun. I'm Shizuma. I've been keeping an eye on you since you arrived. If it's okay with you, I'll go ahead and make sure everything's fine. Just a routine checkup." I nod slowly and the nurse, Shizuma, walks over. "Did you get some food?" I nod.

"Yes, Namikaze-san brought me some food earlier." She nods slightly.

"Okay. Please open your mouth and say ah." I frown.

"Ah?" She presses a flat stick on my tongue and looks inside my mouth. After a second, she nods and backs up. Next, she checks my pulse. Everything she does, she marks on a little clipboard and continues bobbing her head. After a while, she stops writing and smiles at me.

"If you can walk and move around, you're free to go. One of the other nurses will go with you to the apartment that Hokage-sama is renting for you to make sure that you arrive safely and without any problems." I nod and she leaves. That was quick. After a moment, another nurse comes in and bows.

"I'm Ai. Here are some clothes for you to wear home. The clothes that Kakashi-san and Namikaze-sama found you in were filthy beyond help." I nod and get up. She hands me the clothes and hurries out of the room. I change into the clothes, a loose black shirt and shorts, and head for the door. Ai is waiting outside for me.

She smiles at me and we start out of the hospital. "I'm sure you'll enjoy being in Konoha, Yoru-kun." I smile at her and nod. She leads me through the streets, pointing out the different establishments and such the entire way. The set up is similar to Kiri…minus the people glaring at me everywhere I went. We finally get to a building and head up to the third floor. "Here you go." She hands me a key and I unlock the door. She follows me inside and I turn around, bowing.

"Thank you for escorting me here, Ai-san." She nods and leaves. I close and lock the door while I look around the little apartment. It's an efficiency, similar to the one I lived in back in Kirigakure. There's a dividing wall separating the living area and sleeping area, as well as a half wall to mark the separation of the kitchen and other parts of the house. And the bathroom is average sized, while the closet is large enough to use as an extra living space. I look around and notice that the cabinets are stocked, so is the fridge, and the closet is equipped with a full array of clothes in my size. There's also a bed under the window.

Time to get to work! I start rearranging the apartment, setting up the bed as a sitting space—as well as a bed—under the window. I move on to the kitchen, organizing the groceries by label and then washing the few dishes that are in the shelves, just to be sure they're clean. Looks like I'm also equipped with a full set of cooking-ware and utensils. I notice the time and nod slightly.

Huh? Someone knocks on the door and I hurry to answer it, making sure I still look like a guy and not a girl. "Hello?"

"You're my new neighbor?" Neighbor? I stare at the guy. He's blond…about my age and shorter than me…wearing the most outrageously bright outfit I've ever seen and goggles.

"I guess…" The guy nods.

"Uzumaki Naruto desu." I pause, confused for a second.

"Oh, Yoru Yami." Naruto smiles slightly.

"Figured I'd welcome you." I smile in return.

"Thanks." The look in his eyes…he's lonely.

"You here alone or are your parents with you?" That throws me.

"Parents? What parents?" I've never known who my parents were, or even if they were alive. Naruto frowns and I realize that my response threw him.

"Oh. Sorry. You starting at academy?" I nod.

"Yea. Oh, do you want to come in?" Naruto nods slightly.

"Sure." I let him in and close the door. "You have a little sister or something?"

"No." What looks girly? He points at the bed.

"You sure?" I nod.

"Yea. Something wrong?"

"No. It's just that it looks like either you've got some pretty girly tastes or a little sister." I raise an eyebrow.

'_What the hell is that supposed to mean? Nothing in here looks girly!'_ I frown.

'_Calm down…Rokubi…'_ I think and Naruto shrugs.

"Never mind. Looks like I managed to piss you off. I'll get going. Maybe I'll see you at academy." I nod slowly as he leaves. A strange guy. But those eyes…he looked like he's just like me. Maybe I should try to be friends with him? I nod to myself.

That's exactly what I'll do! Befriend Naruto and make sure that his eyes don't remain the same as mine! I go back to arranging the apartment with renewed vigor and start cooking once I'm satisfied with the arrangement. I made enough to last me for leftovers for another day or so. Someone knocks on the door again and I wash my hands.

"Coming!" I hurry to answer the door and smile at Kakashi and Nai. "Hello again."

"Looks like you're settling in fairly well, Yoru-kun."

"Smells good. You cooking something?" I nod.

"I just finished cooking, actually. You two are welcome to come in and join me." Both of them wave their hands.

"Thanks, but we just ate."

"We just came by to see how you were settling in. Bye." The two leave and I sigh. Strange people are in Konoha…or maybe it's just that I'm not used to it yet. I nod to myself. That's it. I'm just not used to Konoha yet.


	3. Lonely?

**Changed By Leaves 2- Lonely?**

*Few days later*

"Yoru-kun!"

"Yami-kun!" Oh shit. I dodge the girls, for the fifth time today, and hurry to class. I slip into the row least bothered and sigh in relief.

'_Damned Lesbos. Why the hell can't they leave me alone_?_'_ I seriously need to get her calm again.

'_Calm down. It gives me a headache when you yell out like that, Rokubi…'_

"Problems, Yoru?" I look over and sigh.

"Not anymore." The antisocial Uchiha is talking to me. No, he's not. He's staring at the front of the room again. Oh shit. Screaming girls, again. We just barely got out of lunch! I dodged them on the way to school, with Naruto, then when I got here, then at the beginning of lunch, then during lunch, and finally at the end of lunch! Now I have to deal with them again?

One of them finally manages to snag a seat beside me and I twitch as she stares at me, blushing furiously, and her eyes sparkling. I don't even want to know what she's fantasizing about. By the look of it, Uchiha was the one that got this crap all the time and I've taken over the spot of most popular guy in class.

Ah, if only they knew I was a girl. Would they feel embarrassed about that? I laugh to myself, in my head, at the pictured reaction of those girls if they found that one out! Oh, classes start back up and the chaos dies down. This stuff is really simple.

"I swear…I'm going to strangle the next girl that tries to attack me." Naruto laughs as we walk from the school to the apartments.

"You said that yesterday too, Yami." I shrug.

"They're annoying me." Naruto shrugs and puts his hands behind his head.

"Eh? I'd want the attention." I laugh slightly. So did I.

"Yea, you'd get tired of it after the third attack." Naruto laughs.

"Heh, I was tired of it the first time. It's disrupting my walk." I laugh at that.

"And your pranks, konno baka." We get to the apartments and part ways at Naruto's door.

"See you in the morning." I nod and wave at Naruto.

*Few months later*

"Graduation exams are today…I'm worried." I look at Naruto, confused.

"Eh? Why?" He sighs.

"They always do Bunshin no jutsu for the practical exam. I suck at that jutsu." I laugh and clap Naruto on the back.

"You'll be fine." Naruto stares at me.

"You're not worried about the test?" I shrug, smirking.

"Not at all. You didn't see my results from the last test? I got a perfect score." Naruto narrows his eyes.

"Lucky. Just for that, I'm not talking to you." I laugh again and shove him to the side. "Konno yaro!" I smirk.

"Thought you weren't talking to me?" Naruto fumes for a second before he starts to laugh. He doesn't seem as lonely as my first impression of him was. But he still gets that look when someone is rude or ignores him. I wonder about Naruto.

That's the same treatment I got back in Kirigakure. Minus the fact that the villagers would openly call me a 'Damned Neko', or 'Monster'. I wonder what the villagers think of Naruto. Why they always treat him like that. We get to the school without incident—I finally managed to get rid of the fan girls. Some of them.

Now they only flock around me when I sit down in the classroom or to lunch. They're all convinced I have a girl in my house making my lunches. I tend to pack a lot of food for lunch, and I also tend to pack it very neatly. Something that I don't see most guys doing. But I can't stand disorder, so I continue with that organization.

The Hokage has been sending food to both mine and Naruto's apartments every week. It's not like we both don't go shopping for our own food. But I guess the Hokage is just nice like that. Iruka-sensei passes out the written exam and the test starts. I answer all of the questions quickly and turn the paper over, quickly falling asleep. I wake up to someone shoving my shoulder.

"What?"

"Lunch time. Unless you planned to sleep through lunch." I get up and hurry outside, finding a hidden spot where the girls won't bother me. I dig into my lunch and head back to the classroom immediately. It turns out that the practical part is bunshin after all. Naruto is the only one that doesn't pass. After school, he goes to the swings out front and sits down, moping. I want to comfort him, but I don't know the first thing to say to cheer him up.

'_It's just an exam! You have plenty of chances to try again!'_ That's what I'd say…but I don't really know how to approach him. Maybe I should have him over for dinner? No! That would seem like I have a crush on him…which I do…but it would be weird because I'm supposed to be a guy! Wait, I have a crush on Naruto…haha, that's funny. Since I'm supposed to be a guy.

"Hey, isn't he the kid who…?" I look over at the woman what spoke. The woman with her nods slightly.

"Yeah, that's him. The only one who failed!" The first woman nods.

"Serves him right…can you imagine if they let someone like that become a Shinobi?" The second covers her mouth and glares at Naruto.

"I mean, think about what he is…" The first woman touches her friend's shoulder.

"Don't even go there." Go where? What were they talking about…'what he is'…? I shrug it off for the moment and walk over to the swing.

"Hey. You heading home alone or something?" Naruto doesn't look at me.

"You mind?" I shake my head.

"Not at all. But you should cheer up. It's not like you to get depressed." He looks up and smiles at me.

"Thanks." I grin.

"See you around." I hurry away from the school, still worried about him. I haven't explored the village really, so I decide to wander around for a while before heading home. I end up lost. "Just great. I'm lost."

"Need some help?" I turn around.

"Oh, Aburame-kun. I can find my way home, thanks though." Aburame creeps me out. Maybe it's the bugs. I look around and notice a long fence. There's a gate marked with a flame inside a yellow circle…the Hyuuga? But how do I get home from here? And Aburame is gone. Not that I'd show that I need help.

I'm used to doing things on my own. Oh, water. I know the pressure of the water in my house compared to others around. My house is right by a turn in the piping I think. I sit down and concentrate. Found the water pipes. And there we are. I get up and follow the piping to the apartment building. It's dark…I wonder if Naruto is home yet. I shake my head and go into my apartment.


	4. Teams

**Changed by Leaves 3- Teams**

"Morning Naruto!" I wave at Naruto as he comes out of his apartment. He waves back.

"Hey, Yami." I tilt my head.

"Are?" I tap Naruto's Hitai-ate. "When'd you get that?" Naruto laughs.

"Haha! Iruka-sensei passed me the other day!" I raise an eyebrow and we start walking.

"How did that happen?"

"Well, I snuck into the old geezer's house the other night and borrowed a giant scroll. And I snuck off to a secret place and trained all night! And then, and then, Mizuki-sensei attacked me after Iruka-sensei found me there! He tried to kill me and take the scroll, but I kicked his butt with a new jutsu I learned!" I hit my hands together.

"Awesome!" I frown, realizing something. "But…why did he try to kill you? Isn't that a bit over the top?"

"Can you keep a secret?" I nod solemnly.

"Of course." Naruto lifts his hand.

"He tried to kill me because the demon fox that attacked the village twelve years ago is sealed in me." I raise an eyebrow.

"Demon fox?" The Kyuubi…that explains it.

"Yea, it's huge and got nine tails." I nod.

"Yea. I figured." Naruto looks confused. I wink. "I know a lot of stuff that's secret." Naruto frowns.

"Really? Like what?" I smirk.

"Oh let's see…like…there's more of those demons like that than just the Fox." Naruto raises an eyebrow.

"Like what? That's kind of scary don't you think?" I nod solemnly, remembering the Rokubi.

"It is. We should hurry up and get to the school before we're late."

"Right." We hurry the rest of the way to the school and the moment we get into the classroom, I get attacked by girls.

'_Not again! Damned Lesbos!'_ I manage to get to a seat without getting hurt and sit down. I glance across the room at the sound of a conflict. Sakura? Something's going on over there by Naruto…but I can't tell. There's a crowd of girls blocking that area. Sasuke fan girls. And the other half of the girls are gathering around me, trying to get the empty seat next to me. One of them finally gets the spot and I sigh. Annoying.

She's staring at me with goo-goo eyes…creepy. The girls across the room finally sit down and I notice that Naruto looks like he just got beat up. I'm scared to find out what happened. Iruka-sensei gets into the room and starts up a speech about being ninja and stuff. He finally gets around to announcing the teams. I wait for my name to be mentioned.

"Team 7, Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Sasuke, and Yoru Yami." So I'm on Naruto's team…awesome! Iruka-sensei finishes the list and dismisses us. I hurry out of the room and hide from the girls. I eat quickly and sigh. I thought that Naruto was like me, but I didn't realize that he was _that_ much like me.

At least now I know why the villagers look at him with hate and fear. And I think it's forbidden to talk about the Kyuubi, so none of our classmates know about it. At least the younger generation won't be so hateful to him because of that. Time to go back to the classroom…I get up and go back to the classroom.

"Even Iruka-sensei has left…" I glance at Naruto, who is grinning evilly. We both get up and I pull a stool towards the door.

"Is it clear?" Naruto is looking in the hall, checking.

"Yep." I grin and climb onto the stool. I catch the eraser that Naruto throws at me and wedge it in the top of the door. Satisfied, I jump down and push the stool back into place.

"This is what he gets for making us wait like this." Sakura crosses her arms.

"Grow up, guys. I want no part of it." Sasuke rolls his eyes.

"Humph. No way could a superior Shinobi be caught by such a simple booby trap!" I laugh.

"You'd be surprised." Speaking of which…someone's coming into the room. "Bulls eye!" Naruto nods in agreement.

"Good one!" Naruto and I high five and laugh. Sakura steps in, waving her hands.

"I'm sorry, Sensei. I tried to stop them, but Naruto and Yami-kun…" The guy that walked in straightens up and I recognize him. Kakashi. Just lovely.

"Hm…how shall I put this? Based on my first impression, I'd have to say…I hate you." That was harsh. Just because we nailed him with the eraser. He leads us to a roof top garden and sits on the rail. I sit on the other side of Sakura. "Now, I'd like you all to tell us a little about yourselves." I frown.

"Like what?" Kakashi shrugs.

"You know. The usual. Your favorite thing…what you hate the most…dreams, ambitions, hobbies. Things like that." Naruto smirks and lifts a hand.

"Help us out here coach." I laugh slightly.

"You go first. Show us how it's done." Sakura nods once, nod understanding the joke between me and Naruto.

"That's right…after all; you're a complete stranger to us…a mystery." Kakashi points at himself.

"Oh…me? My name is Hatake Kakashi. I'm the kind of person who doesn't feel like talking about his likes and dislikes! My dreams for the future are none of your business…but anyway, I have lots of hobbies…" Sakura frowns.

"Hey…he said a lot…but all we really learned was his name." Naruto and I nod in agreement. Kakashi points.

"Now it's your turn. Starting with you on the right." Naruto looks up.

"Me, right? My name is Uzumaki Naruto! What I like is instant cup ramen! What I like even better is when Iruka-sensei treats me to ramen at the Ichiraku Noodle Bar! What I hate is the three minute wait after I pour in the boiling water. My dream is to one day be a better Shinobi than Hokage-sama! And then all the villagers will have to acknowledge my existence at last! My hobbies are…pranks and practical jokes I guess." Kakashi nods once.

"Next!" Sasuke frowns.

"Uchiha Sasuke. There are plenty of things I hate, but I don't see that it matters, considering there is almost nothing I do like. It seems pointless to talk about 'dreams'…that's just a word…but what I do have is determination. I plan to restore my clan. And there's someone I have sworn…to kill." Creepy. I knew he was dark, but damn.

"The young lady." Sakura shuffles in her seat.

"Haruno Sakura desu. My favorite thing is…well it's not a thing, it's a person. A boy…and that boy is…" she glances at Sasuke and blushes. "…Uh, let's move on to my dream." Her face is scarlet. I feel sorry for Sasuke, having to deal with a fan girl on the team. "I hate…Naruto and Yami." Figured. "My hobbies are…" Kakashi lifts a hand.

"Enough. Last, Yoru-kun." I scratch the back of my head.

"Yoru Yami desu. I really don't like much, except reading and cooking. I hate it when things get out of order, along with some other things, including fan girls. I see my goal as a private matter. And my hobbies are…playing pranks and practical jokes." Kakashi nods slightly.

"I believe we all understand each other now. Formal training begins tomorrow." Naruto snaps to attention.

"Osu! What will our duties be? Our first real Shinobi mission!" Kakashi sighs.

"Our first project involves only the members of this cell." Naruto nods and leans forward.

"What is it?" I nod in agreement.

"What?" Kakashi leans forward on the rail.

"Survival exercises." That doesn't make sense…but okay. I ignore the spill and take a handout when he passes them around. I crumple the page and Kakashi disappears. No breakfast huh? Like I'll go with that. I head home and cook dinner. Someone knocks on the door.

"Who is it?" An aggravated sigh from the other side of the door.

"Naruto da!" I sigh.

"Come on in." Naruto comes in and leans on the bar (the half wall that I'm using as a table). "Sup?"

"You know Kakashi-sensei already?" I shrug.

"I've only met him once. But he and a friend found me in the woods when I came here." Naruto frowns.

"What happened?" I turn to the stove.

"Nothing much, I really don't remember it that well. I passed out in the forest from hunger and woke up in the hospital. Kakashi and a friend of his apparently found me and brought me to the village. That's it." I glance at Naruto and he nods slightly.

"So like…that's cool." I smile slightly and finish cooking.

"You want to stay for dinner, since you're already over here?" Naruto grins.

"Sure." I dish out the food and sit down across from Naruto. I frown when I notice his expression.

"You look down, Naruto. What's up?" Naruto shrugs and picks up the chopsticks.

"Nothing really." I scoff and take a bite of food. "What?"

"You're not one to mope. What's wrong with you? Moping won't get you anywhere." Naruto stares at me.

"Why do you say that?" I pause.

"Well…because…" I don't know how to say what I want to.

"Well?" I cough and get another bite.

"I figured that out a long time ago." Naruto raises an eyebrow.

"Really? What on earth would there be for _you_ to mope about?" I look at my plate and move my food around.

"I used to be just like you, you know that?" Naruto scoffs.

"How so? It's not like you're…" I smirk.

"Stuck with a chakra monster inside me? Try again." Naruto examines my face.

"No way. That's how you know about those things?" I nod.

"Yep. Though I can control the chakra completely." Naruto hits the bar.

"Okay, where the hell are you really from? Dish!" I laugh.

"Kirigakure." He frowns.

"Why'd you leave?" I shrug.

"Personal reasons. On the bright side for you, you only recently found out about the Kyuubi right?" He nods.

"Yea." I sigh.

"I grew up with even the kids my own age running away and calling me things like monster and baka neko." Naruto frowns.

"Why neko?" I take a bite of food.

"That's the form of the Rokubi. A giant black, six tailed cat." Naruto stares at his plate.

"I never would have guessed you grew up like that." I shrug.

"I got used to it. It took me a few days to get used to not getting glared at or pushed around here." Naruto laughs slightly, trying to lighten the mood I guess.

"Must have been a culture shock huh? Going straight from getting ignored and stuff to getting attacked by fan girls every turn." I laugh at that.

"Haha, yea." We finish eating and I take the plates to the sink.

"You're a real neat freak." I shrug.

"I never noticed." Naruto looks around.

"I swear it looks like a girl lives here. You got a secret girlfriend or something?" I shake my head.

"No way." Naruto gets up and notices the picture on the wall.

"Who's this girl? A friend of yours?" I walk over and look at the picture as well.

"My sister. She died before I left Kirigakure." Naruto frowns.

"That sucks. Was it just you two?" I nod.

"Yea. Our parents died when I was born." He looks at me.

"So your sister was older than you?" I shake my head.

"Twins."

"Eh?" Naruto looks back and forth between me and the picture. "Huh. She does look like you." I cross my arms.

"What's with the weird looks?" Naruto shrugs.

"Nothing. I'm heading home. See you in the morning." I nod and Naruto leaves. Maybe I shouldn't have put this old picture of me up. I need to update my pictures. And I don't have any with two of me in them. Now I have a story to back up. No. I can just say that that is the only picture I brought with me. Because it is. I nod to myself and go to the kitchen to straighten up.


	5. Chunin Exam

**Changed by Leaves 4- Chunin Exam**

*Couple of months later*

"Chunin exam?"

"Yea. Oh right. You missed out."

"Yea, I wasn't feeling well this morning." More like I started. Damn thing. The only problem with being a girl pretending to be a guy, the damned monthly issue! Speaking of which. "I'll be right back. Bathroom." I hurry to the bathroom and lock the door. It's a good thing I don't wear pads. I'd have issues with that one. But I have to go to the damn bathroom every few hours.

"Anyways, you gonna apply with us?"

"I don't know."

"Kakashi-sensei gave me an extra application to give you. It's tomorrow."

"Okay. I'll think about it." Finally! I flush the toilet and wash my hands. I leave the bathroom and sigh.

"You sick or something?"

"Not really. I'll be fine after a while."

"Dude, don't worry everyone like that." I stick out my tongue and take an application from Naruto. This thing could be interesting. But then again, I'll risk exposure even more, especially if it ends up being partially a survival test. I could get exposed in both my gender _and_ being a jinchuriki. I can't have that! But I kind of want to apply.

If I'm careful, I can manage. I survived that mission to Nami no Kuni without being exposed. I can handle a silly little exam. "We have to turn in the applications tomorrow afternoon at four."

"Cool. I'll probably go."

"Awesome. See you!" Naruto leaves and I set the application on the bar. Hopefully I'll be done with my stupid period by tomorrow afternoon.

*Next Day*

"Hey guys!"

"So you made it after all."

"Feeling better?" I nod and watch Sakura. There's something wrong with her. I wonder what though. Maybe something happened with Sasuke?

"You sure? You've been sick for the past few days."

"I'm perfectly fine now. It was just a little cold." We head for the school and I notice that someone is using a Genjutsu on a higher floor. We hit the second floor and I notice that it's on this floor. There's a crowd gathered around 201. Fun. I ignore what's going on and try to figure out a way to get past this jutsu. I've already dispersed it, but they've got a force field up to go with it, so no one can get past.

"Hey, quit spacing and let's go." I stare at Naruto and follow them. We get to the landing and a weirdo in a green jumpsuit challenges Sasuke to a fight. Naruto attacks the guy and gets knocked out. He's pretty strong. But then again, Naruto isn't very smart. He wouldn't be able to beat even Sakura in a serious fight.

Sasuke goes on to get his ass kicked and another freak shows up, an older version of the first guy. Creepy. I'm ignoring the conversation and everything, just noticing little things. We head to the classroom and I stare at Kakashi. He lets us into the room and I look around. That's a lot of people. A hell of a lot of people. On the bright side, it doesn't look like there is anyone here that will recognize me. Except…I get attacked from behind by Ino. Why me? Why do there have to be _girls_ that think I'm cute? I'm a girl damn it!

"Get off."

"Someone's grumpy." My eye twitches when she tightens her grip on my neck and shoulders.

"If you want to survive for this, Yamanaka, I suggest you get off. Now." She backs up, scared. I roll my shoulders and glare at her. I hate fan girls. Oh great. It's the other team from our class. I ignore the chatter and stare at the ceiling.

"Yoru seems to be lazier than you, Shikamaru." I want this to be over with already. I'm bored. At least I finished my stinking period. I wouldn't have come if I was still on it. Finally.

A group of proctors shows up at the front of the room and the one in charge tells us to turn in the applications and sit down. We do and I end up in the far back left corner of the room. I locate Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto. This is most likely a test of information gathering, but the test is so simple. I finish it within fifteen minutes and wait for the end of the test, turning the page over to keep others from seeing. I lay my head on the table and go to sleep.

I wake up to a window crashing. What the?! A girl at the front of the room? With a giant sign behind her. I think that I'm a bit worried about her sanity. She leads everyone to a fenced in forest and explains the second test. I ignore it and stare at the clouds.

"Have you been listening to any of the proctors?"

"Huh? No. I haven't. Actually. Why?"

"No reason." I look at the clouds again and gasp when Sakura grabs my hand and sticks a piece of paper in it. I stare at the page. A consent form? Is that forest that dangerous? Oh well. I sign it and look at the others. They sign the forms and we go to a gate. The proctor hands me a scroll and I put it in my bag. The test starts and we go into the forest. We stop and I look around.

"So, what exactly are we supposed to be doing?" Sakura and Sasuke stare at me.

"You weren't paying attention?"

"No. Should I have been?"

"Yes!"

"Where'd Naruto go?"

"To the bathroom." I nod slowly. "Speaking of whom." That's not Naruto…I know the healing abilities of the Jinchuriki, being one myself, but there's no way his face would be completely clean. I know I saw blood on his cheek earlier. Not good. Suiraiton. Suirai-senbon. Sparking needles of water attack Naruto and all three stare at me.

"You really have to learn how to properly transform. Naruto is right handed, and there was a cut on his cheek earlier. Baka." I don't know if they're still staring at me because of the attack I used or what. He transforms and I sigh, taking over. I'm pissed now.

I gather water into my hand and attack him. "Suigan!" The force of my attack rams him into a tree and cracks the trunk. I back up and he steps forward, revealing a dent in the tree as big as he is. I roll my eyes and search for Naruto, quickly locating him and throwing a kunai at the ropes, cutting them. I catch myself on a branch and notice that the guy recovered quickly.

He throws kunai at me and I duck behind the branch. I notice the exploding note and surround myself with a layer of water from the air, protecting me from the explosion. I land and the guy gets behind me. I turn around and land a powerful hit to his stomach, gathering chakra to my fist. I grab two kunai and throw one at the guy as he's flying. It hits him in the gut and I ram the second one in his shoulder.

He flees, and I pocket the kunai. I brush my hands together and notice that I'm being stared at again. "What?"

"When the hell did you get that fast?"

"Huh?"

"You've been holding back haven't you?" My arm burns. I must have partially broken the seal in my anger. Why was I even mad? Because someone was trying to impersonate Naruto? Or is it because they interrupted my conversation? Probably both.

"Hey, what's up with your eyes?" Shit. I did open the seal partially. I concentrate to suppress the Rokubi and turn.

"We should get moving. And stick together." We sit down and I look around absently, not paying a lick of attention.

"Wait…that's impossible to remember."

"What is?"

"You weren't paying attention again…were you?"

"You guys were talking about something?"

"You're hopeless."

"Honestly, Yami-kun. You need to pay attention on stuff like this."

"Like what? It's just a survival test right? Get the second scroll and get to the tower without getting severely injured or killed right?"

"You were paying attention earlier."

"Actually, I wasn't. But I saw the two scrolls that weird proctor woman had. I figured it out from there. I can also bet anything that there's some sort of jutsu printed on the scrolls that will mean bad news for anyone that opens the scroll before they get to the tower. So, what were you guys just talking about?"

"A codeword, in case we get separated again."

"Oh. Well, since I didn't hear it…" I glance around and notice a straw in the ground. I turn so that only they can see my arm and slightly uncover my arm, revealing the seal hidden by the wrapping, along with one of the scars. "No one has ever seen that before. It would be impossible to know that I have that on my arm." They nod and I resituate the bandage. Sasuke reaches into his bag and pulls something out. A scroll. It looks identical to the one in my bag.

"I'll carry the scroll." He puts it back in his bag and gets up. We get up as well and the wind picks up. What the hell? "More enemies?!" I hide under a bush and come out when the wind dies down. I spot Sasuke and Sakura and walk over.

"Hold it." I sigh and turn, uncovering the seal. Both relax slightly and I fix the bandage again. Naruto comes out and seems to get the password correct. But that's not Naruto. He wouldn't be able to remember something that long without it being repeated more than once. And there's something weird about that guy.

"Suiraiton. Suirai-Nyon." The guy manages to dodge my cat shaped formation of water and lightning. There really is something weird about him. He seemed to know exactly how my attack would move and hit him, and dodged accordingly. "At least you made a pretty good transformation."

"How do you know it's not Naruto? You don't even know the codeword."

"There's no way in hell that _Naruto_ would be able to remember something that long. Even if you said it a thousand times, he'd still forget it."

"Damn, even though you weren't paying attention."

"You'd be surprised at how much I pay attention to when I'm not really paying attention. I noticed you listening in."

"Well." He pulls out a scroll after transforming. "You want my Earth Scroll, since you have the Heaven scroll, right?" Okay, that's just disgusting. He shoves the scroll down his throat and licks his lips. "Now let's begin…the battle for each other's scroll…with our lives on the line." That killing intent.

I'm almost paralyzed by it. Sasuke throws up, and Sakura is completely helpless. This is just great. I'm the only one not affected by it. And that's probably only because I've encountered that sort of intent before, when I encountered those Akatsuki and in Kirigakure before. Everyone wanted me dead. Absolutely everyone. Oh crap.

I pick up Sakura and kick Sasuke in the head. He snaps out of it and follows me. We hide and I look around. Where is he? Hell, where's Naruto?! Sasuke is freaking out. I remain calm and close my eyes. There has to be a way to escape that guy. If we don't, I'll be the only one to survive against him.

And that would only be because of my history. I'm far stronger than I put on. That noise. I open my eyes and spot the snake. Sasuke doesn't notice it. And it's about to go after him too.

"Sasuke! Snake!" He jumps back, still panicked. He has issues. Okay, that's disgusting. That guy just came out of the dead snake. On the bright side, Naruto's here. Two jinchuriki are better than one, even if the second can barely control his beast and chakra. Sasuke pulls the scroll out of his bag and throws it to the guy. Naruto reacts, grabbing it out of the air. I don't think he realized that I have the real scroll.

I laugh slightly as Naruto punches Sasuke. He's forgotten all about the fact that I have the real scroll and probably thinks that Sasuke's a fake. I can't hear from here. And I don't want to move. If I move, I'll have to attack.

And if I don't attack with my full regular strength, or even partially release the seal, I won't stand a chance against this guy. Oh shit. Kuchiyose! Screw it. I bite my finger.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" I summon a human sized cat and jump onto her back. "Let's go."

"Great. I love snakes for dinner." I laugh and we climb the tree.

"Let's get the other members of my team to safety, ne?"

"Sure thing. Who first?"

"Let Naruto handle the guy for a minute. And Sakura is already safe. So Sasuke."

"The cute guy with black hair?" I laugh and nod. "Kay." She jumps to the tree that Sasuke is standing in and hurries across the branch.

"Hop on." Sasuke climbs on behind me and we jump out of the tree. Aw shit! I look up when I hear a thud. I jump off of the cat's back and catch myself on a branch, drawing more blood from my thumb. Kuchiyose no Jutsu. "Catch Naruto."

"Sure thing." The cat hurries up the tree and I follow, partially releasing the seal, just below the level of the first tail. If I reveal any tails here, questions will be raised. Looks like Naruto is doing the same unconsciously. He gets attacked as retaliation to his first retaliation and my cat catches him before he makes impact with another tree. And there! I get in front of Sasuke, who is watching from a lower branch beside my first cat. I stab the snake's nose with my claws and smirk.

"Don't just stand there, scaredy cat." Oh crap. I hate snakes. Chakra. I surround myself with chakra, burning the tongue that tries to grab me. I flip away from the snake and land firmly on the cat's back.

"That is one big ass serpent. Damned disgusting things."

"Heh, it'll last us a good week for food though. Probably tastes pretty good too." I laugh and we get ready to attack. Naruto hurries over and goes to attack, getting caught and attacked. I can't sense the Kyuubi chakra. Did that guy seal it back up? Tighten Naruto's seal somehow? He throws Naruto aside and I gasp.

"Haineko!"

"Hai!" The second cat catches him and carries him to the ground, beside Sakura.

"Shall we?"

"Of course." I pull out a scroll and enlarge it, summoning several weapons from the first inch of opening it. I catch them and start pushing chakra through all of the weapons.

"Let's go!" I balance on her back, standing up. We charge at the guy, namely the snake, attacking. The snake disappears and I smirk.

"That won't save you." I jump off the cat's back; she transforms into a double of me and catches the weapons. "Suiraiki!" I attack the guy and he somehow manages to dodge, but I drop and he gets attacked by the cat. Looks like Sasuke has some resolve.

I guess I should let him have some of the good parts. I motion for the cat to retreat and I reseal the weapons, pocketing the scroll. The cat turns back to normal and we land beside Sakura. Sasuke nails the guy with a fire jutsu and some clever moves. Smart. Sakura jumps into the tree to stand beside Sasuke. I simply watch from the ground with the cats.

"That jutsu…"

"Orochimaru…"

"You guys know him?" Both cats nod and I look up. Sasuke is screaming.

"What did that guy do?"

"Planted his curse on your friend."

"You'll see when he gets down."

"The guy's gone. Let's go." Both cats nod and follow me up the tree. "Sakura!" I pick up Sasuke and put him on Minya's back. I climb on behind him and look at Sakura. "Climb onto Haineko's back. Let's get these two to safety." She nods and does so.


	6. Sound Invaders

**Changed by Leaves 5- Sound Invaders**

We get to a tree and I help Sakura get the guys laid out.

"If it's okay, we'll be going now." I nod and the two cats disappear.

"I didn't know you could summon." I smirk.

"Heh. It's one of my tricks from before I came to Konoha." Sakura frowns.

"Where did you come from?" I put a finger to my lips.

"Secret." Sakura nods slowly.

"What were those attacks you used earlier? You said Suiraiton. What is that?" I sigh and pull a cloth out of my bag.

"Suiraiton is a combination of Suiton and Raiton. It's my own jutsu style. As far as I know I'm the only person able to use it. And the attacks are ones that I've created. Some are variations of Suiton jutsu and others are completely unique." I soak the rag without thinking and glance at Sakura. She's staring at me.

"And why are your eyes like that? Does it have something to do with that tattoo you showed us earlier?" I frown and put the rag on Sasuke's forehead.

"I think that's enough questions. Sakura. There are things that people can't talk about." She nods and drops it. "Think you can handle these two? Naruto is just unconscious." Sakura nods slightly.

"Yea." I get up and pick up my backpack.

"Good. I'm gonna scout out the area. I'll be back before sunrise." She nods and I hurry off. First thing I plan to do is determine how close to the river we are. I can hear water running, which means we're within an hour's run. I locate it and listen to the current.

I can't hear anyone through the water, it's safe.

I look around and create a small barrier of water around me, to keep me hidden. I strip and quickly get in the water, washing off. I wash out the bandages and then my clothes. I get out and quickly get dressed. It's dangerous for me to do that, but since I'm able to be exceedingly careful, I'm fine. Ah.

I can hear someone now. Getting water out of the river. Sounds like three. A whole team. I check the depth of the water; in the very center of the flow it's as deep as I am tall. And with my chakra concealing abilities, even an ability that can sense or see chakra wouldn't notice me. But just to be safe…I get into the river and go under, melding myself with the water and flowing along the current, towards the group I sensed.

"We'll rest here and gather food and water. An hour before sunrise, we'll scout and plan an attack on resting teams." We're safe from them. It's an hour's run to our camp. They'll probably only spend thirty minutes scouting.

"It's dark."

"Kind of creepy if you think about it." So, this is the team of the guy that challenged Sasuke before the test started. Though neither sound frightened. The girl sounds a bit weirded out, but that's all. I can't hear anyone else either way down the current, so I go back and get out of the water. I shake my head and hurry to scout around.

Looks like the team from Otogakure is heading towards our camp. And the same for several teams from Konoha. Though the only team from Konoha that appears to be on a straight course for our camp is Ino's team. It's getting close to midnight. I get back to camp and notice that Sakura has set some traps. I avoid them easily and sit down beside Naruto.

"How's Sasuke doing?" Sakura jumps.

"Oh. Don't scare me like that." I sigh.

"You look tired. I'll take over. You get some rest." She frowns.

"Aren't you tired?" I shake my head.

"No. I slept plenty while I was sick." She nods and lies down, falling asleep quickly. I'm starting to feel the energy that I depleted earlier. But she's exhausted. I have to let her rest. After a while, she wakes up.

"You look really tired, Yami-kun." I shrug.

"I'm fine." It's amazing how easily she relaxed and went to sleep. But then again, I guess it's natural. She's never been in a situation with her life at risk every moment and not being able to sleep or relax. I spent five days like that, four of them without food. This is nothing compared to that, but it's not something that allows you to relax fully.

"I'll take over. You can rest. You've done way more than I have." That's true. She just stood to the side while the guys and I protected her. Though I was trying to protect everyone. I nod and she switches places with me. I lie down, but don't go to sleep. Instead, I just lay there with my eyes closed, feigning sleep while I allow my body to recover from the fights earlier.

On the bright side, most of my Suiraiton is used without chakra. Hence I forget to use hand signs. Only a few of my attacks require me to use chakra, and I usually use chakra for hand to hand combat, channeling it to my fists to enhance the blow or to send my water and lightning attacks into the body. I can't believe that guy was able to completely dodge my Suiraiki.

Orochimaru…I wonder who he is. I start when I hear Sakura yelling at someone. I open my eyes, but pretend that Sakura is the only one awake. It sounds like she's…never mind. Whatever the second booby trap she set up was, it didn't work. And by the sound of it, they just blasted through it.

"Frankly speaking, you have no talent. People like you have to work harder. A weakling like you shouldn't mess with guys like us." I sigh and get up.

"Then don't mess with her, assholes, and pick on someone stronger. It's only logical." The guy in green shows up just then and attacks them. Damn, Konoha taijutsu makes me dizzy. He lands in front of Sakura and I sigh. What an annoyance.

"Then you guys…should also work harder." One of the guys from the attacking group raises an eyebrow.

"Who are you?"

"The beautiful green beast of Konoha…Rock Lee!" My eye twitches and I sigh. Lee can handle it for a moment, I suppose. Sakura stares at him.

"W-why are you here?"

"I will…always appear when you are in trouble." Someone likes Sakura. She looks back and I smile at her. She looks back at Lee.

"Well…thank you. You saved us."

"I said it before. That I will protect you until I die…" When did that happen? Probably before the exam started, when I wasn't paying attention. One of the sound ninja attacks, dodging the kunai that Sakura just threw. Lee sticks his hand in the ground and pulls up a root, which takes the attack. Sound? I touch the ground, tracing movement through the water in the ground. Sounds like Ino's team is here, arguing about something. Oh.

He's using that technique he was going to use against Sasuke the other day. He's moving the same as before. I stretch out my scope and notice that two others are on their way here. His team perhaps? Something disrupts my tracking and I look up. The other guy from Oto did something to the ground, creating a sponge to soften the blow from Lee's attack. What did he do?

Oh no. It looks like that attack took a lot out of Lee. I stand up and get in front of Sakura. Shit. Lee can't move. If he attacks with sound, I can use water to redirect it away from Lee. Got it. I use the moisture in the air to redirect the sound.

"How?" I smirk.

"Sound is easy to deflect if you have the proper control of the water around you. Water carries sound. I'll be your opponent from here on." I lift a hand loosely and assume a fighting position.

"You sound tough, for a guy that looks like a girl." I smirk.

"Heh. Keep your opinions about my appearance to yourself. It pisses me off." I release the seal partially, causing him to back up slightly when my eyes change. I smirk and speed up, moving faster than Lee did a moment ago and getting behind him. "Boo."

He goes to attack, but it looks like he's moving in slow motion. "You're so slow. It's pretty sad. Suirai-Senbon." He gets pelted with the needles and I pause a few feet away from him.

"What the hell are you?" I shrug.

"Heh. That's for me to know and no one else." He goes to attack me. "You're still moving so slow. Like you're in slow motion. Die." I attack him, using fluid moves and jumping back, controlling the water in the air with my movements. He gets knocked back and I hurry over to the tree.

That girl isn't doing anything, it's just the guys. Maybe if I attack her, they'll get distracted. Lee can handle them for a moment. That's all I need for the distraction. They notice, but neither of them go to protect her. Well, it doesn't look like they do. Okay. Here they come.

I kick her into a tree and go back to the tree in a flash, biting my thumb. It looks like Lee wasn't able to hold up very well after all. Time to test the second guy's abilities. I throw a handful of shuriken at him. He uses air pressure to send them back at me.

I catch every one easily and Sakura goes for the shot, but she can't dodge them. And I wasn't expecting her to do that, so I didn't react properly. That girl is fast. She's recovered from my attack and caught Sakura by the hair.

"Zaku, kill that Sasuke guy in front of this boy chaser's eyes. Let's teach this one a lesson." I frown.

"Not on my watch." Here he comes. Water! I condense the water in the air and place it in front of me, charging it with lightning. I send the wall charging at them. Both guys try to push it back with their jutsu. "It's useless! Nothing can block this attack! Suiraiton! Lightning Wave!" I glance over and notice that Sakura is free, she cut her hair. I landed the hit with the water.

"How did you do that? You didn't use any hand signs!" I smirk.

"There are secrets that a ninja can never reveal. Go bug off if you want to live." Sakura is getting attacked. She uses Kawarimi. To the right. She goes to attack the guy with the air pressure attack. He deflects her weapons and she uses Kawarimi again. Above. He deflects her weapons again and looks around, thinking that she used Kawarimi again. She didn't.

Instead, she attacks him head on while he's distracted and bites his arm. She's putting up quite the fight. The guy using sound waves attacks me. I deflect the attack with water and kick him square in the gut, sending him flying back. The girl goes after me next. I catch her arm and swing her around, tossing her at a tree and knocking her out for a few moments. Uh oh.

I spot Shikamaru's team and they set up a guard in front of Sakura and the others. It looks like that Zaku guy just called Chouji fat. That's not good. He's snapped. Looks like they can handle it for a few minutes. I need to rest. I sit down and suppress the seal. Oh, the girl woke up. And Chouji almost nailed his target, and Shikamaru landed a jutsu on the sound user.

"Dosu what are you doing at a time like this?"

"Ino! Now there's just the girl." Ino nods and I realize what's about to happen.

"Yup! Shikamaru, take care of my body." Oh shit. She's threatening to kill that girl, but they're about to attack. Damn it! Damned fan girl. She's never gonna get over me saving her now. I have a feeling that as long as she's possessing someone's body, she gets hurt the same. I hurry and get in front of the blast.

"Yamanaka you idiot. They aren't normal. Get back in your own body before they kill you and the girl."

"How do you know that?" I shrug.

"Just a hunch. But if I'm right then you definitely have to get back in your own body." She nods and releases the jutsu that she used. "I said already! I'm your opponent! I'm really pissed now, so I think I'll just kill you."

I gather chakra into my hand. "Suiraiton. Suiraiki!" I attack the girl just as she recovers from Ino's jutsu. I didn't use lethal force. But the survival rate at that level is slim. She'll be lucky if she survives. Now for the other two. Again.

I go for the Zaku guy, landing the hit with barely lethal force, sending him flying into a tree. By the sound of it, his arms just snapped too. "Your turn."

"Wait, wait. Here." He drops the scroll and backs up. "Take the scroll. We'll call it a draw." I roll my eyes and glance at the tree. Sasuke's awake. And it looks like Lee's team just arrived. I smirk.

"Fine. Take your loser team and go. I'll take care of you next time." He swallows and hurries to get the two. "Oh, by the way. No one has ever survived that attack. If they survive, it'll be a miracle." They disappear and I pick up the scroll, stuffing it in my bag. The guy on Lee's team is staring at me.

Kind of creepy. I dust my hands and hurry to the tree, helping Sakura up. "You okay? You took some pretty hard hits." She nods and I look at Sasuke. I sigh and push him into a sitting position. Temporary seal. I slam my hand on his shoulder, suppressing that weird mark that's spreading across his skin.

"What the hell was that for?" I smirk.

"That weird mark. It's not good. Don't use it." I look back at Naruto. He's still out cold. What the hell? How can he sleep like that? Is it that seal that that Orochimaru guy used? Most likely. I roll my shoulders and walk over to Lee.

I kick him lightly. "Oy. Wake up." My eye twitches when he doesn't respond. "Ora! Gejimayu! Get up damn it!" He jumps up and looks around. I roll my eyes and sit down.

"What the hell?" I sigh.

"You passed out when they attacked you. I was busy so I couldn't deflect the stupid sound waves again." Aw crap. Dizzy. I touch my forehead and steady myself. What the hell? It may be because of all the chakra I just used. Damn it. The other two teams leave and I walk over to Naruto. "Oy." I kick him on the head and he jumps awake, panicking.

"Where is he?" I roll my eyes.

"Baka. It's just us now." Naruto frowns.

"Then what?" I sigh.

"Simply put. We scared that guy off and you were passed out. After that, we were attacked by Sound ninja and drove them off. I got tired of you sleeping and slacking off and decided to wake you up." Naruto narrows his eyes.

"You're evil." I grin evilly and start walking.

"We should get to the river, clean up and rest. Get our injuries healed and get some food." Sakura frowns.

"What about the scrolls?" I pull both scrolls out of my bag.

"You didn't notice that the scroll Sasuke had earlier was a fake? We've got both scrolls." Sakura smiles now.

"Then we can go to the tower." I shake my head.

"This early in the test…the goal is the tower. The longer the test runs, the more will gather around there, setting traps. If we go to the tower, we could easily get caught in a trap. And without resting and properly recovering, we wouldn't stand a chance." Well, I would, but the others wouldn't. And I need to rest some.

"How do we get to the river?" I sigh.

"Follow the sound of the water." Naruto frowns.

"I don't hear it." I sigh and start towards the river, the spot I washed up last night.

"Then follow me." They nod and follow me to the river.

"How did you know how to get here?" I sigh.

"I can sense and feel the flow of water through the ground and air. It's child's play to locate a river." Sakura frowns.

"How come you've never acted like this on missions?" I shrug.

"I think it's pointless to make things like simple missions too easy. This is a completely different situation from those." Sasuke nods once.

"Yami's right. There's a hell of a lot of difference between regular missions and this test." I step into the water and close my eyes, listening.

"That was stupid, Lee." The guy on Lee's team. They went back to their resting spot from last night.

"You probably were just getting in that Yoru guy's way." The girl obviously agrees.

"Something's not right about that guy." I frown. Who is that guy?

"Meaning?" Confusion…just lovely.

"His chakra was off somehow. I can't place it." My chakra is off? Oh. Because of my elemental control and the Rokubi probably.

"What are you doing?" I open my eyes and stare at my teammates.

"Listening. There's a team camped out up the river. I can hear them through the current." I back up to the deepest part of the river and melt into the current.

"Where did he go?" Ah…how silly Naruto can be.

"I can't see him anymore." Fish.

"Come here little fishy." Got it! I trap about six fish in my part of the water and solidify myself, grabbing them by the tail and coming up. "Fish anyone?"

"Where the hell did you disappear? Is the river that deep?" I smirk and put the fish on the ground.

"Watch." I melt into the water right there and Sakura almost screams. I come up and get out of the water. I pick up the fish and run lightning through them, frying them quickly. I sit down at the base of a tree and start eating one of the fish. The others join me and I hand them each a fish. I'll have to catch some more fish later.

"How did you cook these without a fire?" I put down my fish and run lightning through my hand, creating sparks around my skin.

"Lightning." Naruto shudders.

"You're scary." Sakura nods in agreement and then frowns at me.

"Um, Yami-kun. Where are you from?" I sigh.

"Kirigakure." Sasuke frowns.

"Why did you come here?" I narrow my eyes and glare at the river.

"You don't want to know." Sakura persists, leaning towards me.

"Why not? Did you do something wrong?" I frown.

"Just drop it, okay?" I turn around and glare at the tree.

"You did do something wrong. Didn't you?" I sigh.

"If being born can be considered something wrong. Yes. Now please, just drop it already." Sakura pauses.

"But…" I get up and face them.

"I'm going scouting. I'll be back after a while. Don't start a fire. It'll attract animals and enemies. And I'll keep hold of the scrolls." I leave the area and jump into a tree. What the? A cat? It's a wild cat. It approaches me and starts sniffing me. "I'm Yaya. What's your name?"

"I have no name." I frown.

"That's a shame. How about I give you a name? Life is always better when you have a name."

"You can understand me?" I nod and pet him.

"Of course I can. Oh. You've probably never encountered a human that can understand animals."

"No, I haven't." I look at him, trying to think of a name.

"Your eyes are a pretty green…Midori."

"Midori?" I nod.

"Because your eyes are green. It's a rare and interesting name that often shows that someone is strong of will and mind."

"I like it." I smile slightly.

"Midori it is then."

"You seem upset, Yaya-san. What is bothering you?" I shake my head.

"It's nothing really. Just a misunderstanding."


	7. Eavesdropping

**Changed by Leaves 6- Eavesdropping**

*Naruto's POV*

"I'm going to go check on him. It's been a while." I get up and leave the site.

"You think so, Midori-kun? It's just something that I've lived with. You're really the first person I've talked to about this." That's Yami's voice. Who is he talking to though? "No. The misunderstanding is really my friends being curious. But they don't seem to know when to drop something." I can hear him, but no one else.

Is he talking to himself? "I just don't like talking about my past with others. It's a painful subject." I climb the tree, quietly, until I can see him. He's talking to a cat? "Yes, I suppose it's comparable to that. Almost the same as not having a name. And being hunted. That's why I left my home. Not that it was much of a home. No. Everyone hated me. Just because I exist. They'd always call me cruel names to my face and behind my back, ridiculing me for simply being there.

"It hit the peak when people started trying to kill me. Actually almost a year ago. The reason I finally left was because I was found and attacked by this group called Akatsuki. Why they wanted to kidnap me, I don't want to know. No. They wanted to kill me, but in a different way than fighting. They seemed to have something bad planned if they caught me. I go by Yami here. They'd find me again if I was still Yaya." Yaya?

I don't get it. "Yea, I had to disguise myself to get away from them. I couldn't kill them. I don't like killing. I think it makes me more like the monster that people think I am. Thank you, Midori-kun." Disguise…himself? I'm seriously lost. "What's wrong?"

*Yaya's POV*

"The wind is changing." I nod.

"Yes…oh. Naruto! Come out from behind that tree. The wind isn't in your favor anymore." Naruto emerges and I sigh. "What's up?"

"You were gone for a really long time, so I came to find you. And on top of that, you seemed pretty upset about before." I frown.

"And?" Midori tilts his head.

"Yaya-san, who is that?" I sigh.

"My friend Naruto." Naruto frowns.

"Are you talking to yourself or something?" I shake my head.

"Can't you see Midori-kun beside me?" I touch Midori-kun's head and pet him behind the ears. Naruto raises an eyebrow.

"You're talking…to a cat? Can you understand him?" I nod slightly.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I can. I can understand most animals." Naruto nods.

"Oh." I examine his expression.

"Were you worried or something?" He nods slightly and then watches my face.

"What did you mean…if you were still Yaya?" Oh shit. I narrow my eyes.

"How long were you listening in?" Naruto thinks for a second.

"Um…about since…um…right before you said about the misunderstanding being the others being curious." I nod slowly. He probably couldn't understand what I said about the name and disguise then. This could be bad. Maybe I shouldn't have so openly talked about it with Midori.

"You're upset again, Yaya-san?" I nod slightly.

"I'm fine." I stand up and look at Naruto. "Once this part of the test is over, I'm forfeiting. I shouldn't have applied in the first place." Naruto frowns.

"Why are you saying that? If you forfeit, you don't have a chance to become a Chunin." I shrug.

"I don't care about that. You're the same as me, but you haven't seen what I've seen. In Kirigakure, I had to fight to survive. Literally. I had to fight to be able to do anything. No one would allow me to study to be a ninja. I had to teach myself how to control my chakra and abilities.

"When I tried to make friends with any of the other kids, they would run away in fear. Even if someone didn't recognize me by face, if they saw my arm, they would either run or try to kill me. If it weren't for the fact that I don't want to be the monster that everyone always thought I was, I'd probably be a heartless killer. I don't need to become a Chunin. I'm already beyond the Jounin level. Let's get back." Naruto waves his hands.

"Wait. What did you mean about the name thing and the disguise? I don't get it." I glare at him.

"If you tell anyone this…you're dead. My real name is Yoru Yaya. That picture in my apartment, that I said was of my twin sister, is really an old picture of me." Naruto pauses.

"You mean…you're a girl?" I sigh.

"No duh Sherlock. Let's go already." I pet Midori again and jump out of the tree, heading for the camp. Naruto follows me. Let's see…we have four days until the test ends. I get to the river and jump in, melting into the water the moment I hit it. I capture some more fish and come up, tossing the fish ashore. I get out of the water and fry the fish with lightning.

"That's kind of creepy, turning into water like that." I roll my eyes and throw the fish at Sasuke's head, nailing him. I sit down at the edge of the water, with my feet in the current.

_"Look. It's that cat freak."_

_"She really talks to animals right?"_

_"Freaky! It's because of that beast probably."_

_"Damned monster."_

_"Heh, she's from _that_ clan, she'd be a freak show even if she wasn't a monster."_

_"Yea. Turning into water and talking to animals. The freak."_

_"I wonder if her skin is slimy from all the water."_

_"Only one way to see. Poke it with a stick."_

_"There aren't any sticks long enough."_

_"Yea, don't want to get too close to that thing. It might decide to kill us too if we got too close."_ I shake my head at the memory and stare at the water.

"He's a bit strange, don't you think?" Sakura…damn it. Already I'm looked at as a freak. And they don't even know the whole truth.

"Don't say stuff like that. We've done enough damage already." Naruto…thank you. I look back at them.

"Once you guys are all healed up, we should follow the river to the tower."

"Right, the sooner we get there, the better." Yea, the sooner I can get this over with. I don't even know why I applied in the first place. It's sort of stupid. I never understood what people meant by _that clan_. Was there something special about my family that I don't know? Because they all died before I knew them?

_"Ugh, I hate her."_

_"Why? She's just a girl."_

_"No she's not. See that tattoo on her arm? That's the seal of the Rokubi. The Six tailed cat. That monster killed my parents."_

_"No way! That's horrible!"_

_"Rumor is that she killed her own family too. When she was a little baby. Because of that thing. And she's a freak to top it all off! She talks to animals and turns into water."_

_"But, the adults seem to just ignore her."_

_"They used to try to kill her. I saw it once. One of the Jounin attacked her, to kill her, and she electrocuted him. I swear, she's creepy."_

_"Ew! Like she can control lightning or something?"_

_"Yea, she's always sitting by the shore at the edge of the lake, playing with the water without even touching it. It's freaky."_ Maybe I should have died in the forest that day. I shouldn't have lived to be here. The only reason why people here care about me is because they don't know about the Rokubi. If they found out about that, it would be just the same as in Kiri. Well, not with Naruto. But he's the same as me. Maybe that's why I like him.


	8. Forfeit?

**Changed by Leaves 7- Forfeit?**

*Few days later*

"Told you it was a summoning jutsu." I sit down and ignore the conversation. We passed the second test, but I really don't care. I'm going to call it quits in a little while anyways. Looks like Sakura and Sasuke are tired out. Naruto is the only one jumping around. I roll my eyes and stare at the ceiling.

"Hey, you should listen too, Yami."

"To what? The thing about the sign up there? Don't care. And besides, it's so simple I figured it out after reading it." I look at the ceiling and examine the cracks. Someone shakes my shoulder and I look around.

"You're gonna get left behind, spacing out like that." I nod and get up, following them into the next room. I notice twenty two in the room, including us. Eleven matches. I recognize all of the instructors from Konoha, and the one from Oto seems familiar.

The one from Suna I don't recognize. The older version of Lee is kind of creepy, more so than Lee himself. Looks like the team from Oto survived after all. What a shame. But it looks like I did some real damage to that guy's arms. He won't be able to fight very well.

That's odd. The team from Suna is completely unscathed. Does it have something to do with the gourd on that guy's back? His eyes are creepy, like he'll murder anyone that makes eye contact. And Akamaru is acting strange. Looks like only one team has been here before. The rest are rookies. Oh great. Another long winded prattle.

I settle in, watching the ceiling. Oh, a chance to forfeit. Unless it'll be uneven. I'm not gonna forfeit if it'll make the numbers uneven. One, no two, of the guys from the experienced team forfeit. Damn it. Looks like I'm stuck then. I wait for it to end and look at the board indicated. First up? Damn. And against Sasuke too. I guess I could throw the match. I'll just have to see. That mark is bothering him. The arena clears and I face Sasuke.

"Damn it. I really wanted to get out of this too."

"Chickening out?"

"Hell no. I just didn't want to bother with it. But since it would be uneven, I decided to go ahead. Come on." Sasuke rushes at me; I dodge easily and watch him. Shit. When did he get that fast?

Not enough time to dodge. I turn my body into water and he slips, falling flat on his face. I move and return to normal, rolling my shoulders. Time to speed up myself then. He gets up and comes at me again. I smirk and get out of the way, ten times as fast as he is. I get back and sigh, gathering lightning charged water into the air.

The charge is causing static in my hair. Time to go. I slide my foot forward, towards Sasuke. He's staying back, not sure what I'm about to do. Distance isn't a problem.

Now! "Electric prison." Lightning wraps around Sasuke, binding him. "Suirai-Senbon." He gets pelted with the attack and I release him. He falls forward. He's not out, but he won't be able to move for a while. Not when my lightning temporarily short circuited his nervous system.

"Holy hell. Winner, Yoru Yami." I head up to the upper level and Kakashi leaves with Sasuke, helping him. I lean on the rail and notice that I'm getting stared at from all sides. I ignore it and sigh. Time for a nap damn it. I sit down and lean against the wall, closing my eyes to go to sleep.

"What are you doing?" I open one eye slightly to glare at Shikamaru.

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm trying to take a nap." Sakura looks at me, sighing, and raises an eyebrow.

"Hey, you realize that your bandage got ripped before?" I look at my arm and cover the seal with my hand. Shit. I get up and move to a corner, pulling a new bandage out of my bag. I sit down and fix it, relaxing when I'm sure that no one can see my seal.

Looks like that guy is fighting. How will he fight with his arms like that? Oh. He can move one of them? That's amazing. I suppose I shouldn't have used less than lethal force against them.

I fall asleep pretty quickly and wake up to someone screaming. What the hell? I get up and lean on the rail, watching. I look around. Where're the guys from Oto? And Hinata, Kiba, and Tenten are missing as well. Strange. Oh, Chouji is gone as well. Is this the last match? Lee versus the guy with the gourd.

Sand? Sand…he's controlling sand? That's the ability of…Shukaku no Ichibi! Is that guy the jinchuriki host of Shukaku? Lee's dead. Wait, that's what the screaming was. His arm and leg just got crushed by sand.

I slept through the entire thing. Oh well. It would have been boring anyways. They were right when they said that I'm lazier than Shikamaru. Whoa. That guy isn't even scratched or dirty. What the hell?

With those injuries…it's not very likely that Lee will be able to be a Shinobi again. I listen to the moisture and notice that the flow of the water in his body is off. Like there are torn muscles and shattered bones. Did that guy do that much damage? No.

The injuries except the shattered arm and leg were self inflicted. What did he do to do that? Wait. The Eight Celestial gates. No way. Not only is that a kinjutsu, it's also impossible to master. Even for a Jinchuriki. There's no way he was able to open more than the first gate. I walk over to Sakura.

"What did I miss? Just the major details."

"Hm. After you passed out, Shino-kun won against that guy you injured. Temari from Suna beat Tenten-san. Then Ino and I ended up in a draw, Naruto beat the crap out of Kiba and Akamaru. That guy Kankuro from Suna beat the guy that's on Kabuto-san's team. Um, Neji beat Hinata…and then the other guy from Oto beat Chouji. Shikamaru beat the girl from that team and then you saw the last of the last match." I nod slowly. So it's down to those nine then.

"Let's see. The one guy used sound to beat Chouji right?"

"Yea, but I don't get it. He had his ears hidden, and he was wearing earplugs."

"The human body is 70% water. Water carries sound. It wouldn't be difficult to use the water in the body to move sound through the system and to the eardrums. It's the main thing that helps me hear things through a water current."

"Hey, you should get down there." I nod and jump into the arena. This place is pretty beat up. I can't believe I didn't wake up through the chaos. But then again, I could sleep through anything. I just think it was time for me to wake up then.

Again with the long explanations? I ignore it and wait for the next part. So, five from Konoha, three from Suna, and one from Oto. This could be interesting. Oh great. Picking numbers? I reach in and grab a slip. Four? Is this a tournament or something?

"All right. You all took a piece. Now then, I'd like you to tell us the number on that paper in order, starting from the left."

"It's 8."

"I've got 1."

"7."

"5."

"3."

"9."

"2."

"6."

"4."

"All right, now I will…reveal to you the final tournament!"

"Huh?"

"That's what we drew numbers for?"

"Now Ibiki, show them the match arrangements."

"Yes…" I stare at the list. I'm against Gaara…the guy that just did that to Lee…Jinchuriki versus Jinchuriki I suppose. But it looks like a regular tournament. Can only one person get to be a Chunin? That can't be it.

Perhaps it's simply to give more opportunities to appeal to the ones judging the exam. The second round will be against either Naruto or Neji. A Hyuuga…Byakugan. Though he wouldn't be able to do anything against my jutsu.

Even if he were able to block my tenketsu, I would still be able to fight. Because my water and lightning control doesn't require chakra. And he wouldn't be able to touch me anyways, not when I can turn into water at will. The Hokage dismisses us and I leave. I guess I could head to the hospital and see how Sasuke and Lee are fairing. I nod and start when I hear something.

"Yaya-san?"

"Oh. Midori-kun. You startled me. What are you doing here?"

"I heard noises from the tower. And it seemed like there were injuries." I nod and walk over to him.

"Yea. I slept through most of it, but it was part of the exam being held."

"Ah. I see. Did you pass?"

"I'm moving on to the next part of the exam, yes. It's a matter of seeing if anyone gets to be a Chunin or not."

"Did your friends pass?"

"Only Naruto. I had to fight against Sasuke, the other guy on my team, and then Sakura-san ended up in a draw for her match."

"Interesting. So you're going to get ready for the next test?" I nod and we start walking through the forest.

"It's amazing how dangerous they made this forest out to be. It's not really that bad."

"Only because you are strong. Things in nature can tell when someone is strong." I nod and we get to the gate quickly.

"Already. Ja, Midori-kun." I frown slightly.

"Yaya-san. Wait. I have a gift for you." I stare at him and he lifts his paw.

"What?"

"Take my paw." I nod slowly and put my hands under his paw. After a moment, he lowers his paw and I stare at the thing in my hand. A summoning charm. "In thanks for your friendship, when you need me, I will come to you. I may not be a ninja animal, but I can help." I nod and put my arms around his neck.

"Thank you, Midori-kun." I get up and leave the forest, heading for the hospital. I stare at the charm and pull my locket off of my neck. I slide the charm onto the chain and put the necklace back on. The chain is long enough that it is hidden well under my shirt.


	9. Training?

**Changed by Leaves 8- Training?**

"No visitors?" The nurse nods.

"Yes, I'm sorry. But Lee-sama is in this room. You're welcome to go up there. Though the last I heard, he is still unconscious." I nod.

"Thank you." I locate the room and go inside. I sit down and concentrate, examining his injuries by the flow of water in his body. All but his arm and leg are self inflicted.

So he did somehow manage to open the gates? By the level of damage, probably the fourth or fifth gate too. Amazing. But he won't be able to be a ninja again, even after he recovers. Damage like that is irreversible. He'll be on crutches for the rest of his life probably. That's horrible. I shake my head and leave the room. Yelling? It's Naruto. I bump into Kakashi.

"Oh, I was just about to look for you, Yami. You got plans to train for the main matches?" I frown.

"Train?" Why would I need to train?

"Ah. I'll take care of it." I roll my eyes and start down the hall.

"Whatever." I get to the lobby and wave at Naruto. He waves back and starts yelling again. I sigh and head home. I fix supper and start eating.

Someone knocks on my door and I get up. "What? Oh. Kakashi."

"You left before I could talk to you." I shrug.

"Don't need to train." Kakashi raises an eyebrow.

"What makes you say that? Who are you up against?" I shrug again.

"Gaara. That guy from Suna." Kakashi's visible eye narrows.

"You use mostly water based attacks right? He uses Sand, earth based." I nod slightly.

"I'm aware of that. Go away before you get electrocuted. I'm not in the mood to talk."

"Electrocuted…?" I sigh.

"I'm pretty good with Raiton as well."

"Oh." He leaves and I finish eating. I head for bed early and fall asleep quickly.

*Couple days later*

"Coming." What the hell? "Oh. Go away Kakashi. I already said I don't need to train."

"Just come on." I roll my eyes and follow him.

"You're determined aren't you?" Kakashi sighs.

"Come on. I know you're really not that strong." My eye twitches and lightning sparks around me.

"Wanna try me?"

"That's kind of scary. How are you doing that?" I sigh.

"I can freely control water and lightning. I'm a lot stronger than I put on."

"Okay. I'm curious." I narrow my eyes.

"You have a death wish?" He shrugs.

"Not really. Just prove to me that you don't need to train." I roll my eyes and go at him, getting behind him within moments and kicking him in the other direction. I get in front of him.

"Suigan." I ram the attack at his gut and send him flying.

"Okay, you're good. I've never seen anyone move that fast. Maybe…"

"What? I'm getting really aggravated over here." He lifts the Hitai-ate from his sharingan and starts gathering chakra. That attack…he used it in Nami no Kuni. He called it Raikiri. It's a waterless version of Suiraiki. I smirk and he starts to move, pretty fast. But still in slow motion.

Immediately, I gather chakra into my hand. "Suiraiton. Suiraiki." I nail him with the attack and avoid his move, sending him flying again. I roll my shoulders and he stares at me.

"What the hell was that?" I sigh.

"A jutsu I created a while back. It's a ball of water in my hand charged with lightning. In essence, when I attack, I send the water into the body of my opponent, overloading the body with water, then I send the lightning through the water, which conducts electricity, effectively short circuiting the system and either paralyzing or killing the enemy, depending on the level of electricity I put into it. Basically, it's a more powerful version of your jutsu. Though I created this when I was eight and have never seen that attack until the mission in Nami no Kuni."

"You're scary." I smirk.

"And, as you probably noticed in my little match with Sasuke, I can turn my body into water at will."

"Um, scary. Did you train back home or something? You didn't have a Hitai-ate…" I cross my arms.

"I haven't been a Shinobi until I came here. Don't ask why. I'm not going to talk about it." I turn and start to leave. I head home and sit down, with a book.

*Day of the Main Matches, Naruto's POV*

Where is she? Yami…Yaya is never late for anything. And she didn't answer when I tried to get her up earlier. Could she be doing some last minute training or something? At this rate, she'll be disqualified. Not that she'd care. She didn't want to be in this part of the exam anyways. That's probably why she's not here yet. Damned crazy.

*Yaya's POV*

Oh great. I lost track of time while I was reading. I'm super late for the matches. I wonder if I got disqualified. I sigh and get ready. I hurry to the arena and sigh when the guys at the front door react to my arrival. One of them leaves.

"It's about time you got here. You were almost disqualified." I sigh.

"Oh great." I hurry inside and to the main floor. What the hell happened? There's some major damage to the ground.

"Hey! He's here after all!" Naruto? Hm. I wonder how the matches went. He's really excited…maybe he won?

"Judging from your excitement, you won?" Naruto nods.

"Of course!" I smirk.

"Heh." I face the ref. "Sorry I'm late. I guess I've been hanging around Kakashi a bit too much. His tardiness rubbed off." The ref laughs slightly. He's a different guy from the first round…maybe they just change the refs.

"Heh. Your name?" I smirk.

"Yoru Yami." I glance up at Gaara. Those eyes…it's the peak of loneliness, how sad.

"You'd better not lose to a guy like that." I nod once.

"Heh. No duh." Naruto touches my shoulder.

"Hey Yami." I look at him.

"What?" He grins.

"You'd better win. I want to fight you."

"Kya! Yami-kun!" Oh great. I swear, I hate fan girls.

"Hey, who won the other matches?" Naruto shrugs.

"Kankuro forfeited. And technically Shikamaru won, but he gave up right at the end." I nod slightly.

"Figures. What about the guy from Oto?" He shrugs again.

"Missing." I nod slowly. This should be interesting after all. Time to shine. Huh? I sense…hatred. From where? Not Gaara, he's nowhere to be seen, on his way down here. Wait a second…I know that feeling.

I glance at the stands and notice something. Kirigakure Hitai-ate! Oh shit. Please don't recognize me. No, it's too late for that. I'm the only Yoru. Whether I have a different first name or not, they'll recognize it as me. Should I have given myself a false last name as well? No, it's too late to think about that.

I'll have to prove to them that I'm not a monster. Oh great, he's out. And that look…it's worse than before. Pure killing intent. It's a good thing earth based jutsu are weak against lightning based. I plan to use mostly Suiraiton and Raiton. Huh. I sense Sasuke watching. He's probably pissed that it's not him down here.

"Begin." Sand right off the bat? A one trick pony. What the? Talking to himself?

"Don't…get so angry…mother…" This is bad. He's talking to Shukaku? That means that a lot of the beast's chakra has mixed with his and he's partially controlled by the beast if he's talking out loud to it. He straightens up after a moment and I sigh.

"You ready now? Good." First, to test the speed of the sand. I throw a handful of shuriken at him and the sand jumps up to protect him. Oh, a sand clone? Clever, but I'm not coming anywhere near him. I put my hands together. Time to thicken the sand. I condense the water in the air and turn chakra into water. I open my mouth and a wave of water fills the arena. I jump into the air and land on top of the water.

Looks like the ref went to higher ground to watch. Then I attack again, from a distance using shuriken. The sand is moving slower. Good. That helps. Suirai-Senbon.

The sand isn't fast enough to block all of the attack, but it looks like he's covered himself with a thin layer of sand. I'll just beat that off then. I rush in for the attack, at my top speed. I'm sure I'm probably just a black blur to the spectators, if they can even catch my shadow. I land a few punches and kicks, slowly wearing down the armor of sand.

Time to slow him down even more. I run in a circle around him, creating a whirlpool around Gaara. Now, to cave it in from the top. I melt into the water and circle the current, keeping it going as I manipulate the water at the top of the flood to cave in and cover Gaara. I swim to the other side of the arena and go back to normal. I reduce the flood to mist and then release it fully into the air, making it simply humid.

"That all you got? That armor and shield? What happened to the jutsu you used against Lee?" Perfect. The sand is coming at me and rising from the ground. "Too bad." I turn into water and go into the ground, moving directly under him.

Suiraiki from below. I come out of the ground, turning back to normal instantly and attacking him with Suiraiki. He slams into the wall and starts to get up. I smirk and get ready. Huh? He's retreating? Hiding in a ball of sand. Well. If he wants to play like that, then I'll take my time out here. A third eye?

So he can probably see what I'm doing. Heh, he won't know what hit him anyways. I pull out twelve needles from my bag and set them in intervals around the ball of sand. I pull out a thirteenth one and jump into the air, throwing it square at the middle of the top of the sand. Perfect. I flip back and land in a crouch.

A jutsu, no matter the type, is somehow linked to the user. Here, I can sense the connection of water between the sand and Gaara. Both from the blood mixed in it from his previous kills and the water from my flood. I run through some hand signs.

"Tori, mi, ne, inoshishi, inu, uma, tora, u, tatsu, hitsuji, tori, inu, tora, saru, mi." A line of lightning forms, connecting the needles and forming a cage around Gaara. Once he comes out of that ball, he'll get the shock of his life. Or…I could just get it over with here and now, while he's stuck. I nod slightly and increase the voltage, making the line get thicker and create a more solid looking cage.

I switch hand signs, to my signature sign, Neko, my pinky and ring finger up with the middle fingers tucked between my hands and my other fingers outside my hand and down. The lightning gathers towards the center needle and disappears, into the sand. And that's it. I stop the lightning before it does enough damage to kill him and the sand drops. Huh. I made him bleed. He's freaking out. Huh? A genjutsu?

"Looks like you're the winner, Yoru." I gather the needles with chakra and put them back in my bag. What the? Shukaku…shit. And his eyes…just one of them…the seal is loose! Smoke!

That's where the two kage are sitting! An attack on the village? And that sound, carrying on the wind through the water…it really is an attack! This is bad! Plan? The others from Gaara's team and their leader get around him.

The three Genin jump out of the arena and I start to follow them. They're not getting away! Huh? Sasuke? Oh great. People getting in the way.

"Get out of the way!" I slash my arm, sending a wave of water from the air at them, cutting through. I jump over them and hurry to catch up with the team from Suna.


	10. Cat vs Badger vs Frog

**Changed by Leaves 9- Cat Versus Badger Versus Frog!**

*Naruto's POV*

"Gotcha! So that's what's been going on! But Sasuke went after him?" Pakkun the dog nods once.

"Yea." I shake my head.

"They're both crazy." Shikamaru groans.

"So! Why am I being assigned out like this? It's a shittin' chore!" Sakura frowns.

"It can't be helped! It was Kakashi-sensei's orders after all!"

"This way!" We turn, following Pakkun. Yaya I can understand, she can handle herself. That was obvious when she beat that guy in the first place. And besides, she said that she can control all of the Rokubi. "Hey! You guys, pick up the pace!"

"What is it?"

"From behind, two squads with eight, no…one more, nine men are chasing us!" Great.

"Hey, hey, already? Man, you've gotta be kidding!" Pakkun sighs.

"Don't look as if they've got a fix on our true position yet but, they're closin' in on us quickly while on the lookout for surprise attacks…"

"Geez! Shit! They're probably all beyond the Chunin level…if they catch up with us, we'll be annihilated!" Way to be positive, Shikamaru…damn it.

"Shit! Well, if that's the case then shall we ambush 'em and do 'em?"

*Yaya's POV*

"Why the hell are you following me anyways? I don't need your help." Sasuke shrugs.

"Don't care." I roll my eyes.

"You'll just get in the way. Turn around and get home." Sasuke shakes his head.

"Hell no." My eye twitches. Why are men so determined? Men make no sense to me! Shit, not fast enough. I bite my thumb and grab the charm out of my shirt. _'Midori-kun, please come.'_

"Hey." I grin.

"Midori-kun! Think you can help me catch up?" Midori nods slightly.

"Sure." I jump onto his back and smile.

"Which way?" I frown slightly.

"Can you sense their chakra?"

"Yes. There's a group following and a group ahead." I smirk.

"We want to go to the group ahead."

"Okay then." So fast. He's faster than most ninja cats. Great. We'll catch up with them in no time. Got 'em! Midori and I get in front of them and block their way.

"Damn it…"

"You're not going anywhere." Heh, looks like Shino caught up.

"Temari, take Gaara and go ahead!" She nods slightly.

"Yeah…" I sigh and roll my shoulders. Sasuke finally catches up and assesses the situation. He sighs.

"Guess there's no helping it. I'll be your opponent!" I glance at Shino when I hear a buzzing sound.

"No! I'll be your opponent…!" Sasuke frowns and looks at Shino.

"Shino, why are you here?" He explains something about bugs and scent. I don't get it and I don't care.

"Let's go, Midori-kun."

"Right." We catch up with Temari and Gaara and I create a wall of water in her path. I feel sort of sorry for that Kankuro guy. Even I don't want to fight Shino. Because bugs are incompatible with my jutsu. And they creep me out. I guess I'm a girl to the core there. I hate bugs. I think that's because they're the only creatures that I can't understand. Though I'm better with cats. The two turn and face me. I smirk and look at Temari.

"This is between the two of us. Get out of here before you get caught up." Temari frowns.

"What are you talking about?" I sigh.

"Shukaku is about to come out, right? I'm pretty sure you don't want to get caught up." She looks shocked.

"How do you know about that thing?" I shrug.

"I have my ways." I get off of Midori's back and rest my hand on his shoulders. "Gaara. You weren't serious before. And it's not over until one of us dies. Bring it on." Already? That's a partial transformation…I guess that because Shukaku only has one tail, that's how the seal being opened looks.

Then, I'll just fight back with my own seal open. "Gomen, Midori-kun. You should get back as well. My chakra hurts everyone it comes in contact with from here." He nods and jumps back.

I release the seal, limiting the output of chakra to three tails. He comes at me and I dodge, extending the chakra to attack him while I'm getting away. "I'm surprised you're able to move after my attack before. Usually the lightning cage paralyzes my enemies permanently." I dodge another attack and charge the air with lightning. Now!

I direct a powerful bolt of lightning at him. He manages to dodge and I use the bolt as a weapon, whipping it around and hitting him square on from the side. Shit. He's transforming even more. At this rate, I'll have to fully release the seal. Naruto? I glance over at him and notice that I'm being stared at by three people, a dog, and a cat. Sakura is here, along with Sasuke and Naruto.

*Naruto's POV*

What is she doing? Is that guy that strong really? Three tails…is she crazy? It doesn't look like she's getting hit at all. Never mind. "Stop staring and get out of here! It's a pain in the ass fighting this guy like this without having to protect you guys too!" Shit. I'm gonna help her.

*Yaya's POV*

Damn them. I was distracted for a moment and got hit. Who the hell is that dog? Crazy people.

"Naruto! What are you doing? Get back!" The transformation is almost complete, and I can feel this chakra ripping my skin off. If I release the fourth tail, I'll look more like the cat. And if Naruto gets too close to me…shit. "Get out of here. If you get hit by my chakra, you'll get hurt." Shimatta.

I propel myself off the tree and ram my fist at Gaara. "Suiraiki!" I jump back and catch myself in the air; somehow, my chakra solidifies the air under me and provides a standing place. "Go away." Oh crap. That's the full transformation. "Sakura!" He's got her trapped on a tree.

This is getting really bad. I told them to leave. I create a whip of lightning and cut the arm, but the sand is still trapping her. Shit. "Sasuke, get out of here." I up the output of chakra, all six tails. He's fully transformed…so will I. It takes a moment for me to get the full size, but when I do, I attack him.

After a moment, a giant frog appears, with Naruto riding on its head. When did Naruto learn to summon? That doesn't matter. I look at the frog. "You're Gamabunta right?"

"Yea. You're the Rokubi." My eye twitches.

"Yea. The name's Yami." I back up as Gamabunta attacks Shukaku with a sword, jumping in once he gets out of the way. Oh great. Gaara is asleep. "Naruto! Wake up Gaara!" Naruto jumps onto my nose and stares at me.

"Yami?" I sigh.

"Yea. Think you can handle it?" Naruto nods once.

"Of course." I attack Shukaku and Naruto jumps onto his head, pounding Gaara. After a few minutes, he manages to wake him up and I attack again, managing to avoid Naruto. Got him. Gaara returns to normal and I suppress the seal.

'_Mataku. That thing is annoying.'_ I sigh. Figures she'd be talking to me. She always does that after I fully open the seal. _'__You gonna talk back today? I'm bored. You're not gonna kill that guy?'_ Shit.

'_Heh, no. Between fighting earlier and now, with the seal, I've exhausted myself.'_ I land on a branch and grip my side. The after effects of opening the seal. And my skin is raw and red. Damn it.

'_Sometimes you're kind of pathetic. But then again, it's easy to wear yourself out using your techniques.'_ I sit down and wince.

'_No duh. Tell me something I don't know huh.'_ Where's Sakura? Oh, Sasuke's got her.

"Yaya-san! Are you okay?" I nod as Midori and Sasuke run over.

"Yea, I'm fine." I manage to get up somehow and lean on the tree.

"What's up with you?" I shake my head.

"I'm fine. Sakura?" Sasuke sighs slightly.

"Alive." I nod and wince.

"Shit." Midori examines my expression.

"Yaya-san? What's wrong?" I shake my head.

"Nothing." Internally, I hear a sigh.

'_You're not gonna be able to stay conscious much longer like that. Need some help? You closed the seal so much that my chakra can't heal you.'_ She's right. What the? Oh great. Just what I need. My body's starting to liquefy. I really don't want anyone to see me like that. I concentrate and loosen the seal.

'_Help me keep myself together long enough to get home.'_ Almost immediately, my skin returns to normal, healed, and I can keep a solid form.

'_You've exhausted both of us, kid. You should get your cat friend here help you get home.'_ I manage to straighten up and realize that I'm still kind of shaky. Where's Naruto? Sounds like finishing up. I wonder how things are going back in the village. I won't be able to walk like this. I'm barely able to keep a solid figure; there isn't much stability to my body right now.

"Midori-kun?"

"What?" I sigh.

"I need a ride."

"Sure thing." I climb onto his back and stare towards where Naruto and Gaara should be. Ah, Temari and Kankuro.

"Gaara is your brother right? The fight's over. Hey Sasuke. We'll take Sakura back to the village." Sasuke sets Sakura in front of me on Midori's back and we start towards the village. "The hospital is that way."

"The damage is horrible. Such a battle." I nod slightly.

"I think it's over now. There isn't any fighting." We get to the hospital and I sigh. A nurse runs out, no, it's Nai.

"Yoru-kun?" I can't do anything movement wise now…not even nod.

"My friend might be hurt. I figured it would be best to bring her here." Nai nods once.

"There have been a lot of injured. I'll take her inside. Are you okay?" I manage to nod.

"Yes, I'm fine."

"Which way?" Midori and I leave the hospital. I direct him to the apartment and go inside.

"Thank you for your help, Midori-kun."

"No problem." I won't be able to stay solid much longer. I lock the door and go to the bathroom. I plug up the tub and sit down in it just as I lose solidity.


	11. Recovery

**Changed by Leaves 10- Recovery**

*Next day*

"You're still not better?" Damn it. I can't move. And the door is locked. Never mind.

"You picked the lock again. You have issues."

"You're all cooped up in the bathroom. You sick?" I sigh to myself. He can pick the lock if he wants.

"Heh. If you want to see the state I'm in right now, you're welcome to come in. It's not like I'm solid or anything."

"What's that mean?"

"Just quit talking through the door and get in here." The door opens and Naruto walks in, blushing.

"Where are you?" I sigh.

"In the tub, idiot." He stares at me. "What?"

"You're water."

"Tell me something I don't know. I exhausted both my own chakra and the chakra of the Rokubi yesterday. This is what happens when I do that. I become a puddle." Naruto frowns.

"That's weird. How did you get in the tub though?"

"I managed to stay solid long enough to get Sakura to the hospital, get home, and plug the tub." He raises an eyebrow.

"How?"

"Using the last of my chakra. It'll be a couple of days before I can get back to normal." He nods slowly and then looks at me.

"Oh, news. Old man Hokage died during the battle."

"Really? I wonder who'll be the next Hokage then…" Naruto frowns.

"How can you worry about that?" Damn I wish I could shrug or hit him right about now…but I can't!

"I'm just wondering. Oh. There were people from Kirigakure at the exams." He narrows his eyes.

"Do you think they recognized you?" I wish I could nod right now. I'll bet that Naruto is pretty weirded out by talking to a tub of water as it is.

"I don't _think_ they recognized me…I _know_ they did. I could feel the hate from them."

"Hey, question. Were you always able to turn into water?"

"Yes. Another thing for the kids to tease me about. When I was little, I couldn't control it, so whenever I would get upset about something, or any time that I cried, instead of crying, I became a puddle. Until I was able to control that, a frequent name I was called was Mizusho. I'd also get made fun of for my ability to understand animals and my tendency to 'spark' when I was pissed."

"Spark?"

"Yes. You already know that I can control water and lightning. When I was younger and couldn't control any of my abilities very well, when I was angry, sparks would surround me."

"You're strange, you know that?"

"You don't have to rub it in."

"What is it with girls and being sensitive?" Ah motor functions…I miss you so.

"Heh. If you hadn't been eavesdropping back then, you wouldn't know that I'm a girl. So I don't want to hear it." Naruto smirks.

"If you weren't talking to a cat in the first place, I wouldn't have been curious." I scoff.

"You are pathetic sometimes." Naruto chuckles.

"Yea, yea, Yaya-chan."

"Urusei!" He gets up.

"I gotta go, training." Naruto leaves and I sigh. I really wish it wouldn't be such a pain to recover from this. Ara?

"Oy! Naruto! Naruto!" Gone. I have to pull myself together. I concentrate and try to get solid, but it doesn't work. And I can't quite sleep like this. Damn it!

*Couple Days Later*

"Yami-kun!" I sigh.

"Sakura?" The door knob rattles as she tries to open it. The hell is her problem?

"What are you doing locked up in the bathroom?" Did Naruto lock the door?

"Heh, long story."

"Huh. You have a girlfriend or something?" I sigh again.

"No. I just don't like living in a mess." I hear her gasp.

"Oh! Who's this girl? She's gorgeous!"

"What girl?"

"The girl in this picture. She's got long blue hair and she's wearing a black dress." I sigh.

"Oh, that's my sister." Can I get myself solid now? I manage it and nod to myself. At least my clothes are intact as well. I rub the water out of my hair with a towel and step out of the bathroom.

"You're soaked! What happened?" I shrug.

"Heh. I exhausted myself the other day. When I use all of my chakra, I turn into a puddle. Sort of like how I became water in the exam." Sakura nods slowly.

"Oh. About your sister. Is she in Konoha with you?" I shake my head.

"No." She raises an eyebrow.

"Why not?" I shrug.

"She died. A while back. What are you doing here, Sakura?" She shrugs.

"Nothing really. Have you seen Naruto? Or Sasuke-kun?" I shake my head, frowning.

"I saw Naruto the other day. But I haven't seen Sasuke since the third exam." She nods slowly.

"Huh. So…were you a puddle this whole time?" I nod and head for the kitchen.

"Yea. And I'm hungry. You want some lunch?" She nods and follows me.

"Sure. Wait, you cook too?" I nod and pull out stuff to cook. Someone knocks on the door and I sigh. Who on earth could that be? I go to the door and open it a crack, to see who it is.

"Sasuke? What are you doing here?" He looks like he just ran here.

"Have you seen Naruto?" I frown.

"No. Why?" I step outside.

"I don't know why, but…Itachi is after him." I narrow my eyes.

"Itachi…?" I know that name from somewhere…oh no! I hurry inside and grab my weapons. "Sakura, I'm sorry, I'll have to treat you to lunch some other time. I just remembered something I absolutely have to do." She nods and leaves. I follow her and lock the door. "I know why he's after him…don't follow." I jump off the level and break into a run, heading for Ichiraku. "Teuchi-san! Have you seen Naruto?"

"Yea, he left earlier with Jiraiya-sama." I frown.

"Where did they go?" Teuchi shrugs.

"The Hotel Village I think." I nod.

"Thanks." I hurry out of the shop and leap over the village fence, heading for the Hotel Village. If they catch Naruto…it's over for him! He's the same as me. I can't let him get taken by that group. Even if it risks my own capture. I get to the village and look around. Great, there's too many to search one by one.

I hurry to a passerby. "Excuse me, have you seen a guy about my age, he's got spiky blond hair and whisker marks on his face."

"Yea, with an old man?" I nod. Jiraiya, if I'm correct, is one of the legendary Sannin, he should be an old man. "Oh, they went to that hotel over there." The guy points and I bow.

"Thank you." I hurry to that hotel and notice the time. It's late. I get to the counter and catch my breath. "Excuse me; did a pair of guys check in here earlier? A kid about my age with blond hair and whisker marks on his face, and an older guy."

"Ah, yes. This room." I memorize the number and hurry upstairs. I pound on the door and Naruto answers.

"Yaya? What are you doing here?" I shake my head.

"Just let me in." I go into the room and look around. It doesn't seem like they've gotten here yet.

"You're panicking. What's up?" I catch my breath.

"Akatsuki…they're coming after you." Naruto pauses.

"Wait…Akatsuki…as in the people that…?" I nod and we both stare at the door when someone knocks. Naruto starts for the door and I grab his hand.

"Don't. It might be them. I barely managed to get away from them last time and I can completely control my beast. You can barely control the Kyuubi." He shakes his head.

"But what if it's not them? And besides, the two of us together can handle it." I let go of his hand, stunned, and he answers the door. Naruto isn't moving…not a good sign.

"However…could this child really be the Kyuubi…?" Definitely not good! I run over to Naruto and face the two. They're the same ones that were after me! Okay, that pisses me off.

"Is there something you need?" The one with black hair…Itachi. The other one is Kisame.

"Naruto-kun. We would like you to come with us." I touch Naruto's shoulder.

_"Come with us."_

_"Who are you?" I back up instinctively and stare at them. One is from Kirigakure. That sword…he's one of the seven swordsmen! Not good._

_"Please. We won't hurt you."_

_"Like hell you won't! I don't trust you!" The seal…I open it and start using the Rokubi. "Get away from me."_ I shake my head to clear the memory and glare at them. I'm pretty sure that both recognize me, just by my expression. It's the same as when I met them before.

"Looks like we found the one we lost too."

"Come out of the room." I squeeze Naruto's shoulder and step in front of him.

"Go away."

"You're a troublesome brat." I smirk and step into the hall. Naruto follows me and we face the pair. Sasuke? I told him not to follow.

"It's been a while…Sasuke."

"Uchiha Itachi…" I watch them. That aura around Sasuke is pure hatred.

"Yare, yare…indeed, today is a special day, don't you think? This is the second time I've seen another Sharingan." Not good.

"I will…kill you!" Definitely not good! Sasuke's going to get himself killed or worse! But why? Why would he hate this guy so much? I could understand if he was like me and that guy had tried to kill him, but I know nothing in this situation.

'_Uchiha Itachi huh…that's the guy that slaughtered the entire Uchiha clan. I heard it in his blade the last time you encountered him. Your friend over there has the same family name…so he survived that.'_ I frown. I hadn't thought of that.

"Hou…Sharingan. You seem to be familiar with Itachi…Who is this guy?"

"He is my…younger brother." No way. Sasuke's brother…? The guy that…that's impossible.

"I heard the entire Uchiha clan was wiped out…by you…" How horrible! But…I have to stop this before someone gets hurt, namely Sasuke. And besides, I have to keep myself and Naruto safe from these two. I have to hurry too. What is that jutsu?

"I've been wanting to say this to you…I've lived hating you…and also that I've lived only to kill you…I have lived for this!" Looks similar to Kakashi's Raikiri.

"Chidori…?" Chidori? What is that? I stare. Whatever it is, it's about as destructive as Suiraiki. Itachi easily stops the attack by punching Sasuke in the gut. Or rather, letting Sasuke run right into his fist. At that speed…it was impossible for him to dodge, even having Sharingan. Naruto?

He's gathering chakra. So strong…wow. What the? Itachi snaps Sasuke's arm and turns towards Naruto and me. I dodge the sweep of The Samehada and retaliate, using Suiraiki. I miss and catch myself, glaring at them.

A guy with a frog shows up and protects Naruto. Sasuke! I hurry to help Sasuke. I touch his arm slightly and he winces. The bone is completely shattered. I won't be able to heal him. Not with any jutsu. But…the chakra of the Rokubi has exponential healing powers. I've never used it as a medicine though.

"Don't do it…" Sasuke manages to get up, wincing at a pain in his arm. "This guy…is mine!" He's gonna get himself killed!

"I have absolutely no interest in you right now." What the? I wasn't paying attention and look what happens to me. I get attacked and knocked into the wall.

"Yami!" Thank heavens Naruto remembered to call me Yami. I get up and glare at them.

"Okay, now I'm mad. Don't you know it's rude to attack someone when they're unarmed?" I wince slightly and suppress the seal. _'__I have to do this on my own strength.'_ "Suirai-Senbon." Water in the air condenses and attacks them.


	12. Mission to Find the New Hokage

**Changed by Leaves 11- Mission**

"You little…"

"Yep, that's definitely the one that got away from me damn it." Oh shit. I forgot about that. I'm in trouble. I shouldn't have done that. Though I think they figured me out with the Suiraiki.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Aw shit. Kisame approaches me and I sigh. My cover is blown anyways, so it won't matter. And I'm extremely pissed. I'm sparking.

The old man seems very shocked. I think it's well known among the older ninja that the ability of the current Rokubi Jinchuriki is lightning and water manipulation. And it's probably also well known that that person is a girl. I duck out of the way to dodge an attack and swing my legs around, tripping the guy. I get up and run to stand beside Naruto. Kisame gets up, but doesn't do anything else. Itachi is walking towards Sasuke. I grab Naruto's shoulder to stop him.

"Don't. That guy has some powerful jutsu. I had a hard time against both of them last time." Naruto frowns.

"You mean?" I nod and wince when Sasuke starts screaming.

"Itachi I advise you against using your eye so many times in a single day…" Naruto starts forward.

"Assholes!" I hold Naruto back.

"He won't kill him. I hope." And besides, that old man has something in the works. Oh. A summoning. The entire hall turns into some sort of internal organ and Sasuke slowly disappears in the wall. The two run and we hurry down the hall after them. I stop and stare at the hole in the wall. Black flames.

"That's…" I shudder and the old man hurries down the hall to the hole. He seals away the fire and I relax slightly. They're gone. We're alive. Oh! Sasuke! I run back and catch him when the weird thing surrounding us disappears.

"Sasuke!" I examine his injuries quickly.

"He's fine. No worries." Well, he's alive at least.

"Dynamic Entry!" The hell?

"Gai?" A guy…the super brows…he jumps in and slams his foot into the old man's face.

"The damage? You seem to be good at telling that sort of thing?" I nod.

"His arm was shattered, and there are two fractured ribs. And on top of that, the jutsu that was used with Sharingan possibly damaged his brain. But with rest and medical treatment, he'll be fine in a few weeks." The old man stares at me.

"How do you know that?" I sigh and launch into a now familiar explanation.

"The human body is 70% water, which I can control and sense perfectly. By listening to the flow of the fluid in the body, I can discern what damage has been done." Naruto is totally confused.

"Huh?" I sigh.

"I just know these things alright Naruto?" I stand up and start to leave.

"Wait. Who are you?" I sigh and look over my shoulder.

"Yoru…Yami. I'm one of Naruto's teammates and his neighbor. Oh, and Naruto. I hope you're not thinking of going after those guys. Considering _I_ had a hard time against them before, you wouldn't stand a chance." He nods once.

"I figured that." I wave and start to head down the hall. I think of something and stop.

"There aren't any medics in Konoha that can heal mental damage. If you can find that woman, she can help. Maybe she could even get Lee-kun back to normal. You're looking for her right?" I glance back to see the old man's reaction.

"What makes you think that?" I shrug.

"The Hokage died. If it went how I thought it did, then the only options for a new Hokage would be the third's students." I turn around. "And I'm looking at one of them. While the second is not an option. The only possible reason for you and Naruto to be here, outside of Konoha, would be to search for the third." The old man nods slowly.

"It'll be easier with a third person. Come with us." I shrug.

"Fine." Gai picks up Sasuke and we leave the hotel, and the village.

"Jiraiya-sama…please find Tsunade-sama…and bring her back to us!" Naruto nods and salutes.

"Don't you worry, we'll find her!" I roll my eyes and put my hands in my pockets.

"Take care of Sasuke, Gejimayu." The old man—Jiraiya—sighs.

"Well, Gai…we'll be leaving Sasuke in your care." Gai examines Naruto.

"Naruto…! You've got guts; I like kids like that! Here, I'm giving this to you! This is the reason why Lee is so strong…" Just watch it be that stupid jumpsuit.

"Eh? What? What?" He pulls a jumpsuit out of his vest and my eye twitches. He goes into a spill about it and Naruto freaks out.

"If you can walk around carrying that, why not carry a mirror instead…?" I nod slowly. It's stupid not to carry a mirror or be able to create something reflective. I look at Naruto.

"You're not going to walk around wearing that are you?" He shrugs.

"Why not? It fits me doesn't it?" I roll my eyes.

"Great, next he'll be running around wearing his hair weird and growing his eyebrows super thick." Naruto stares at me.

"Nani?" I sigh.

"Just look at it, Naruto. It has _freak_ written all over it." I get closer and lower my voice. "Take it from a girl's point of view. It's hideous." I back up and we start out.

"Hey Yami. Was it really those guys?" I nod.

"Yea. Damn bastards." We're behind Jiraiya.

"You're sure you don't know why they're after people like us?" I nod.

"Positive. It's definitely not to be helpful though, that's for sure. They wouldn't be so damned forceful if that were the case."

"You seem to know a lot about the situation, Yoru-kun." I stiffen slightly.

"So?" Jiraiya looks at me and smirks.

"And also, your attacks. It's a rare gift to be able to control water and lightning at the same time. And even rarer to control those elements without forming hand seals or gathering chakra."

"Your point?" I know what he's getting at. And I do not like this at all.

"I've heard of the Yoru clan. It was wiped out twelve years ago by one of the Tailed Beasts, the Rokubi." I stop walking.

"So?" Jiraiya shrugs.

"The story about it is that the beast was sealed into a newborn of that clan. But it was a girl. And the Yoru clan was known as the only group of people in existence able to control an element without using chakra or hand seals. Apparently, the girl that the beast was sealed in was the only survivor." He stops and faces me. "Why would you go to such lengths as to pretend to be a boy?" I pause.

"I…I…" Naruto watches me.

"Yami?" I stare at the ground.

"I was…approached by those two from Akatsuki. I fled and they caught up with me. It ended up as a fight and I barely managed to get away. The only way to keep them from finding me was to change my appearance and go into hiding."

"Barely? How far can you control the beast?" I shrug.

"All six tails." Jiraiya frowns.

"And you barely managed to get away? Did you not release the seal against them?" I narrow my eyes.

"Of course I released the seal against them. I'm not stupid. Kisame is one of the Legendary Swordsmen. According to what I heard about him, he has even more chakra than the Kyuubi."

"That's scary." I nod.

"Anyways. We should hurry and find Tsunade." Naruto nods.

"Yea! And then get back to Konoha so she can fix up Sasuke and then we can get to training!" I laugh slightly. "Hm?"

"What?" Naruto frowns.

"Is this _super babe_ you were talking about before…Tsunade?" Jiraiya nods.

"Oh! You've gotten sharper already…! Yep, it's her alright. What about it?" I start laughing.

"Is she one of the ones, along with you, that people call the Sannin?" He nods again.

"Yea, so?" I wipe my eyes, tears streaming from all of the laughter.

"How old is she?" Jiraiya smirks.

"My age." I double over laughing. "What's so funny?" I straighten, still laughing.

"If she's a 'super babe', then I wonder if she uses a jutsu to keep herself looking young. If she's your age, she'd be well in her fifties by now and wrinkly." Jiraiya frowns.

"Stop laughing. You're pretty smart." I calm down and smirk.

"You're just now figuring that out, Oji?" He clenches a fist.

"Nani?" I shrug.

"It's better than Ero-sennin." Naruto looks at Jiraiya.

"Hey, Ero-sennin, what's this Tsunade like?" Jiraiya smirks.

"Hm? You interested? Well, she's kind of annoying…she's a compulsive gambler, and well known in a lot of countries…" Naruto nods.

"Well, she'll be pretty easy to find then, if she's so famous…!" I laugh slightly at that and Jiraiya nods.

"Oh, yea, she's famous alright…she's known as the Legendary Sucker." I scoff.

"She must not be lucky then." Jiraiya nods slightly.

"Not at all. She may have a name…but it won't be that easy to find her. She ain't the type to age gracefully, so she'll be using a jutsu to keep her good looks. She may be 50 but she'll have the looks of a twenty year old. And as I've been hearing lately, sometimes she changes her appearance from a 10-year-old to a 30 or 40 year old to get away from her gambling debts." I smirk.

"No problem." Jiraiya frowns.

"What?" Naruto realizes part of what I meant.

"Oh right." I sigh.

"I can detect jutsu that change appearance. All I have to know is her natural body size. Though if she's as compulsive a gambler as you say, the best places to search for her would be casinos." Jiraiya nods slightly.

"Exactly. And there's a way to detect jutsu like that without an ocular jutsu?" I nod.

"Water content of the body. An appearance jutsu is just an illusion, and so it's easy to tell the actual water content of the body. For me at least." He nods slowly, confused.

"Uh-huh. You're gonna have to prove that one to me." I shake my head at his stupidity. "Anyways, we don't have time to waste, and most of this trip will be spent on you, Naruto." Naruto frowns.

"What about Yami?" I sigh.

"Just go ahead and call me Yaya for now Naruto. It's pointless to keep calling me 'Yami'." Jiraiya sighs.

"I think that Yoru-san proved her strength of jutsu back at the hotel. Oh, what exactly was that attack you used?" I frown.

"I call it Suiraiki. It's a sphere of water that I form in my hand and charge with lightning. When I make contact with my enemy, I push the water and lightning into the enemy through their sweat glands and increase the voltage of the lightning, electrocuting them from the inside out." Jiraiya raises an eyebrow.

"Because water is a conductor." I nod.

"And because the human body is mostly water, it's easy to overload the system with water and electricity."

"You're a fearsome kid."


	13. Festival

**Changed by Leaves 12- Festival**

"We're gonna power Naruto up then. It's training time!" Naruto drops his bag and pulls out the jumpsuit. I frown.

"Oh no! You're not wearing that."

"I ain't gonna be seen dead in the company of someone wearing that." Naruto nods and packs it up. I pick up his bag and start walking.

"You don't have any things, Yaya…" I shrug.

"It was a hasty run. Sasuke had to show up at my place, freaking out because he heard that Itachi was around and that they were after you."

"So you freaked out and ran immediately to the hotel village?" I nod.

"How did you know where we were?" I smirk.

"I went to Ichiraku and asked if they'd seen you. Then I ran at top speed to the hotel village and gave each clerk I asked a pretty specific description of you and found the room you were in." We get close to a village and Naruto starts getting impatient.

"Come on, Ero-sennin! Let's get started with the training!" Jiraiya sighs.

"Don't get too fired up…we still need to gather information about Tsunade. There is no point in training before we do so." Naruto frowns.

"Gather information?" I roll my eyes and stop, crouching.

"What are you doing?" I frown and glare at the two guys.

"Listening. Shut up for a minute." I touch the ground for a better hearing aid and concentrate.

"What are you listening for?" I hold up my other hand for silence.

"There are a lot of casinos in this next village. By the sound of things, there's a lot of excitement. This probably means that the house is winning quite a bit." I stand up and face the two guys. "Most likely, from your description of her luck, we'll find Tsunade in this village."

"That's creepy. How do you know all that just by touching the ground?" I sigh.

"Water. It runs through the ground. Everything that is in contact with the ground is linked to the flow of water underneath. Footsteps, games, things like that are easy to detect through the vibrations of sound traveling through the hidden channels of water, unexposed to the air." Naruto looks totally confused.

"I didn't get any of that." I sigh and toss Naruto his bag.

"Carry your own bag." Naruto catches his bag and stares at me.

"What are you gonna do about stuff, Yaya?" I smirk.

"I'll survive. You forget. I survived for four days straight in the wilderness with no food or water, and no shelter or even a change of clothes." Jiraiya stares at me dumbly.

"Are you sure you're really a girl?" I nod.

"Yep. I'm positive. Oh and there's a festival going on. The main part of the village is crowded." We start walking and get there.

"Damn. She was right." Naruto sighs.

"I could have told you that one." I roll my eyes and we go into the main part of the village.

"Awesome! This is the first time I've seen something like this!" I stare at Naruto.

"Eh? You've never been to a Sakura Festival?" He frowns.

"What's that?" I raise an eyebrow and sigh.

"It's a festival held in spring to celebrate the blooming of the Cherry Blossom trees. Back in Kirigakure, we also had a solstice festival that was held on the summer and Winter Solstices."

"Huh." Oh! I spot a stall that's selling kimonos and I reach into my back pocket, pulling out a wallet full of money.

"What are you doing?" I grin.

"What does it look like I'm doing? Since I'm with people that know that I'm a girl, I'm going to be a girl for once and wear a kimono at this festival." Both guys are staring at me. "What?"

"You're kind of strange." I shrug. Jiraiya clears his throat.

"Anyways. You two have fun doing whatever you want! This will be a break before the training starts until this festival is over…we'll stay here for now and do the training here as well." Naruto punches the air.

"All right!" I roll my eyes and go into the stall. I spot a really cute one that's midnight blue with pale pink and purple butterflies on it. I examine it. It's probably my size too.

"Can I help you with something, young man? We also have some Yukata over here." I shake my head.

"No. I'd like to see the size of this kimono." The lady examines me.

"For a sister?" I nod.

"Yea." The woman pulls the kimono down and holds it up for me to see properly. It should fit me. "How much is it?"

"100 Ryo." I nod and notice a pin on the shelf.

"How about this hair pin?" She smiles brightly.

"10 Ryo. And there is an obi that comes with the kimono." I nod slightly and look around. I pick up the hair pin and face the woman.

"I'd like to get this hair pin and that kimono please." The woman nods once.

"Okay. That'll be 110 Ryo." I pull out the money and hand it to her. She hands me the kimono and a light purple obi (belt) to go with the kimono. The tie on the obi is pale pink. I bow and leave the stall.

Now, to find a safe place to change into this. Oh! I head to the public restroom and lock the door of the largest stall. I made sure that no one saw me and that I went into the girl's restroom.

I put on the kimono and tie the belt. I leave the stall and examine myself in the mirror. It's a perfect fit. My hair has grown out some since I left home. I run my fingers through it, to get the biggest tangles out, and pull it up, pinning it in place with the pin. I leave the bathroom and locate Naruto.

"Hey Naruto!" He stares at me.

"Yaya?" I nod and smile. "You actually look like a girl." I smirk.

"That was the idea, numskull. Mataku. How much money to you have?" He frowns.

"Thirty." I frown.

"I thought you had more than that saved up." He nods once.

"Yea. Ero-sennin took my bag." I sigh.

"You shouldn't have let him do that. At least taking your money." I grab his hand. "Come on. Let's not waste your first festival." We walk through the street and play games and eat. It's really fun. "How much money do you have left, Naruto?"

"Let's see…enough to get something at the next store." I nod once.

"Okay. Let's go." We go to the next store and look at the counter.

"Hey mister! Get me this type of squid cut in pieces!"

"Yes! I'll give you the really good one! And I'll give you a small one free of charge! Pick one!"

"You're cool, mister! My type of guy!" I roll my eyes.

"Sir. I'd like this one please." I point at a rather large squid and the guy stares at me.

"Miss, are you sure you want one that big?" I nod.

"Yep." He shrugs and give me the squid. He also gives Naruto a small squid and half of an adult squid. We pay and leave. I start munching on my squid and we hear laughter.

"Where to next?" I frown.

"That's Ero-sennin's voice." We head over to that building and go inside. Jiraiya is on a couch with two women. One of them has a bottle of sake in hand and a frog purse is on the table, empty.

"What nice young ladies you girls are…!" He's drunk…damn adults. "Oh…Naruto! Heh, how'd it go at the festival? You pick up a girlfriend?" Naruto and I look at each other and both of us blush.

"No you idiot, drunk old man! It's me, Yaya!" Naruto is staring at the frog on the table.

"What's the point of telling me three sins of a Shinobi! You're the one in trouble by breaking them!" I stare at Naruto. He's really pissed. That must have been his money in that frog. "My savings that I saved money to use! What the hell is this? What about the training?" I sigh.

"Naruto, calm down…" Jiraiya lifts his hands.

"N-Naruto calm down…this is a misunderstanding…l-listen!" One of Naruto's squids slips out of his hand and hits someone behind me. I stop mid bite and look back. The aura of anger is almost visible…I back away from them and munch on my food.

"Look what you did! What are you going to do about this, you stupid brat!" I ignore what they're saying, because it's loud and annoying. I'm half way finished with my squid by the time Jiraiya gets up, having thoroughly pissed those guys off.

"Naruto…now pay close attention…as I'll show you a jutsu you'll be learning how to do. Take a good look." He's gathering chakra into his hand and it's forming a sphere, much like my Suiraiki. He rams the sphere into one of the two guys and he spins backwards. I nearly drop my squid in shock. A water ball bounces over and Jiraiya catches it. He pulls the string off of it and smiles. I take another bite of the squid and Naruto looks at me.

"Eh? You're already half way finished with that thing?" I nod and finish chewing. "I swear, you're a bottomless pit." I nod.

"That's true." Jiraiya clears his throat.

"Naruto! Yaya! Let's get going! Time for training!" Naruto punches the air and I sigh.

"Yea!" We hurry after him and to a clearing. "I can really feel the training tension!"

"Here you go! It's a water balloon."


	14. Rasengan Training?

**Changed by Leaves 13- Rasengan Training?**

"Huh? What's up with this thing?" Naruto catches the balloon and stares at it.

"Did you pay attention to the jutsu I just did?" Naruto nods once.

"Yep!" Jiraiya smirks. This is pointless.

"What did you see in the jutsu?" I stare out at the village and finish eating my squid. I turn around and notice that Naruto is glaring at the balloon and Jiraiya is sitting down. I look between them.

"What did I miss? What's with the water balloon?" Naruto narrows his eyes.

"Training!" I raise an eyebrow and Jiraiya sighs.

"He has to break the balloon by spinning the water around in the balloon using chakra." I frown.

"Why is he doing that?" Jiraiya crosses his arms.

"It's the first step to mastering the jutsu I used earlier." I nod slowly.

"Oh. This?" I hold up my hand, gather normal chakra in a circle and hold it up.

"How did you? Just by seeing it?" I disperse the chakra and shrug.

"It's a waterless version of my Suiraiki. So it's easy." Jiraiya pauses.

"You mean?" I smirk.

"I created Suiraiki from my own knowledge. I didn't have any formal training as a ninja until I went to Konoha. I'm going back to the festival. I'll come back later."

*Several Days Later*

"Ha!" I lower my leg and stop moving. Naruto has been trying to break that balloon for three days now. He still hasn't gotten it right.

"There you are! Guess what, Yaya!" I turn to him.

"What? You finally managed to break the balloon?" He nods once.

"Yep!" I grin.

"That's great, Naruto." He grins back, but then frowns.

"What are you doing out here anyways?" I smirk.

"Training, of course." He raises an eyebrow.

"By yourself?" I nod.

"This is how I trained myself before. I spent a lot of time watching the exercises at the school and then went home and trained myself to be able to copy them."

"So what were you doing out here? And why does it look like it's been raining?" I smile and punch the air. A blast of water flies from my fist and slams into a tree, cracking the wood. "Wow!"

"I've been working to strengthen this part of my fighting. What's the next step of your training?" He holds up a rubber ball.

"I have to break _this_ ball. And no matter how many times I try, I can't get it to break." I look at it for a moment before turning.

"It's rubber. Different from a balloon." I lift my leg and swing, sending a crackle of lightning at a tree, slicing it in half. "It takes more power to break through rubber for a ball than for a balloon." I jump and flip in the air, creating a twister of water and lightning at my feet and sending it drilling into the ground.

I land on my hands. "Pardon my training while talking." I push off the ground, with a blast of water and land solidly on both feet. Naruto is staring at me.

"You look like you're dancing." I smile slightly.

"That's sort of the idea. Water moves smoothly, so it's easier to maintain the flow and power of water by moving smoothly. With lightning, it's a combination of smooth movements and quick strikes." Naruto frowns.

"I don't see why you have to train." I shrug.

"Because the festival is over and I get bored easily. Of course. This is the only thing to keep myself occupied for now."

*Three Weeks Later*

"You've been at it for three weeks and you still haven't got that damned ball broken?"

"No. It's way harder than with the balloon. Because there isn't water to help me tell how the chakra is going around. How do you keep your jutsu in the circle the whole time? I mean, I get the whole thing where you manipulate the water into a circle, but you were able to master this jutsu just by seeing Ero-sennin do it."

"Hm…can I see your hand?" Naruto holds out his hand and I look around. Oh. A leaf. I pick it up and put it in the middle of his hand.

"Huh?" I smile slightly.

"Put it on your forehead." He frowns.

"Why?" I sigh.

"Just put the leaf on your forehead. This is how I trained myself to concentrate my chakra. For the longest time, whenever I would do jutsu, I was just using my ability to move the elements. So to be able to concentrate my chakra, I'd put a leaf on my forehead and concentrate on it. Or for this, you could…picture…say Jiraiya's face, in the center of your hand and concentrate on making your chakra explode in his face." Naruto starts laughing and I smile.

I notice something and turn over his hand. "How much have you been training?" He shrugs.

"Almost constantly. Why?" I frown.

"You're overexerting yourself. The muscles in your arm and the back of your hand are straining. You should take a break for a little while."

*Couple Days Later*

"Any luck?" Oh. I walk over to Naruto and look around for the rubber ball.

"Huh. Nowhere to be seen." I crouch and touch his hand. It's burnt, and there's a leaf inked on the center of his hand. So he concentrated his chakra so much that it burnt his hand. Jiraiya shows up and Naruto stirs.

"It's done." Jiraiya grins.

"Seems like you've mastered the second stage." Naruto gets up shakily.

"Err…let's start the third stage quick…" I frown.

"Oh no you don't. You need to rest before you end up like Lee-kun. Over exerting yourself like this. Mataku." Jiraiya waves a hand.

"Let's save it for later. We're gonna meet Tsunade now. I'll explain the basics of the third stage on the way." I help Naruto up and he winces.

"See. If you keep up this training constantly, your muscles will be strained to the point of permanent damage. I swear, men are such pains." I shake my head as I speak and Naruto laughs slightly.

"And yet you're pretending to be one." I stick out my tongue and we follow Jiraiya. We head to a village, but have to stop occasionally for Naruto to rest.

"Mataku, Naruto. Sit down already." I push him to the ground and unwrap my arm. I hold my arm in front of him.

"What?" I sigh.

"Bite my arm." He frowns.

"Why the hell would I want to do that?" I shake my arm slightly.

"Just do it. You'll see in a minute." Jiraiya laughs.

"Your chakra also has healing properties? It's no wonder it was a major loss for Kirigakure when your clan disappeared." I smirk.

"I wish they'd told me that. They wouldn't even let me go to the ninja academy." Naruto raises an eyebrow.

"You mean…if I bite your arm I'll be fine?" I nod and wince when Naruto bites my arm. I concentrate my chakra and send it into Naruto through that connection.

"Better?" He nods.

"Yea." I wipe my arm clean with a bit of water and redo the wrapping on my arm. We start walking again and get to the village we're going to quickly.


	15. Meeting the Legend

**Changed by Leaves 14- Meeting the Legend**

"Are you okay?" I nod slightly.

"Yea. I'm fine." Naruto frowns.

"You've been pretty unsteady for a while now. Are you sure?" I nod.

"I'm fine!" I steady myself and we search through the town. I stop abruptly.

"Yaya? What's wrong?" I frown.

"Something big is on the other side of this village." Jiraiya stares at me.

"Like what?" I sigh.

"A Snake. Most likely." Naruto's eyes widen.

"A Snake? Like the one that was attacking the village before?" I nod and bite my thumb.

"Kuchiyose no jutsu!" Three, I need three cats.

"What the?" I shake my head at Jiraiya's reaction. Haineko appears first and rubs against my side.

"You're better!" Minya shows up and reacts to Haineko's exclamation.

"That's great." Sora laughs slightly at those two.

"Welcome back, Boss." I smile at the cats and look at Jiraiya and Naruto.

"I know you prefer frogs, Jiraiya-sama, but cats are faster. Minya, you go with Naruto. Haineko." She hisses slightly.

"Ugh, I have to take the pervert frog guy?" I nod and Haineko sighs. "There's no help for it. Damn being the biggest out of us three." I sigh and smile slightly.

"And I'll take Sora." She nods slightly and Haineko yawns.

"The point of this is?" Jiraiya smiles slightly.

"To locate Tsunade and find out why there's a snake on the other side of the village, of course." I nod. Minya groans.

"Ugh, snakes again?" Sora laughs.

"Maybe we can catch some dinner this time!" I roll my eyes and climb onto Sora's back.

"Sora and I will go check out the snake." Jiraiya frowns.

"Hold it. There's no way I'm letting a kid go that way." Sora nods in agreement.

"He has a point, Boss." I frown.

"Hey! Fine! Let's just go. It'll be quicker if I go take care of searching for Tsunade. Oy, Jiraiya-sama, do you have anything that might have her scent on it?" He shakes his head.

"No." I think of something. Haineko sniffs Jiraiya experimentally.

"Hey boss, this guy stinks of frog." Seems like the cats are on the same track. Sora gasps.

"Oh. Come to think of it, didn't that Orochimaru guy smell like snakes?" Minya nods slightly.

"Yea, he did." Jiraiya waves his hands.

"Wait, Orochimaru?" I nod slightly.

"Yea. During the Chunin exams, this guy attacked us and said his name was Orochimaru. He was a pain in the ass to get rid of too." He raises an eyebrow.

"You mean you met him?" I nod once, smirking.

"Yea. Kicked his ass too, if I do say so myself." Haineko sighs.

"You had a lot of help from Sasuke-boss…" I glare at her.

"Urusei! Anyways, Kakashi smells like dog too. Does Tsunade use Kuchiyose?" Jiraiya nods once.

"Yea. Slugs." I smirk.

"Then we search for a human scent mixed with slug." The old man frowns.

"What makes you say that?" I sigh.

"It's only logical. You summon frogs, and you reek of frog. Orochimaru uses snakes, so he smells like a snake. Kakashi summons dogs, so…"

"Okay we get it." Naruto raises a hand.

"Wait, I summon frogs too." I frown slightly.

"Huh. I didn't notice that. The change in your scent. I guess it's because you're always around. Anyways. Sora and I will see if we can't track down Tsunade's scent at least in the town." Sora starts running and we search the town.

"She's definitely here." I nod.

"In town at least." We get to a casino and I get down. "Wait for me out here, Sora-chan."

"Hai." I head inside and look for the pit boss.

"Can I help you, kid?" I nod slightly.

"Ah yes, I'm looking for a woman by the name of Tsunade. Um…she's blond and got a diamond on her forehead. And her eyes are green. And also, according to my sources, she's pretty cute."

"Oh, you're looking for the Legendary Sucker? She and her apprentice were in here yesterday. They're staying at the local inn. I think they're doing everything under the apprentice's name. She's a real babe that girl. Black hair and a serious look on her face all the time. Her name's Shizune. And she's got a pet pig that she's always carrying around." I nod and start to leave. I notice a coin on the ground and pick it up. I turn and face a nearby slot machine.

"I put the coin in this slot right?" The pit boss nods slightly.

"Yea." I nod and put it in. I pull the lever and hit triple sevens. My wallet isn't good for change…I look at the guy.

"Can I buy a change purse here? To carry this." He nods once.

"Sure thing. We've got three types. Frog, dog, and cat." I grin.

"I'd like a cat one please." He smiles slightly.

"Kay. That'll be 50 coins." I nod and count out the coins. The guy hands me a money pouch and takes the change from me. I load the money in the purse and leave the casino.

"Hey Boss, where'd you get all that money?" I smile slightly.

"I found a coin on the ground and put it in the machine and won the jackpot." Sora laughs slightly.

"You just have all the luck don't you?" I shake my head.

"Not really. But I found out where Tsunade and her apprentice are staying. We should locate the others and let them know. And it's also getting late, once we get back with Naruto and Jiraiya, you guys can go home for dinner." She laughs slightly.

"Great." I smile and climb onto Sora's back. "They're at the castle over there. Where the snake was." I nod and we hurry there.

"Wow. Such damage." Naruto spots me.

"Oh hey. Did you find anything?" I nod and get down.

"You guys can go home." Haineko nods slightly.

"Kay." She turns and Minya shakes her head.

"See ya Boss." Sora flicks her tail as a sort of wave.

"Ja." The three cats disappear and Naruto notices my new bag.

"Where'd you get that?" I shrug.

"Oh, at the casino I tracked Tsunade's scent to. I found a coin on the ground and won this money from the machine. I bought the wallet while I was there." Jiraiya frowns.

"Damn, you kids just have all the luck. Anyways, what did you find out?" I sigh.

"Let's see, they're staying at a local inn, and it's under the name of Tsunade's apprentice who is travelling with her, named Shizune. It'll be one that allows pets, because Shizune has a pet pig."

"Great. We'll ask around and see if we can't get a definite place and eat." Naruto and I nod.

"Okay." We hurry down the path and to a pub.

"Here." Naruto stops at the door.

"This is a pub though!" I sigh.

"Places like this are good places to get information, Naruto. Calm down." We go into the restaurant and Jiraiya stops abruptly.

"Tsunade!" I notice the person he's staring at.

"Jiraiya…" She doesn't even look twenty! More like in her late teens! "Why…are you at a place like this?" Jiraiya sighs.

"Finally, we've found you." We sit down with the two and I end up stuffed on the end, without a way out of the booth. We eat and I look at Shizune.

She reeks of poison. So she's trained in medicine and also good at making poisons. Which is good, because of who they are. If one or the other is accidentally infected with one of the poisons, the other could easily create an antidote.

Huh? Something happened between the two women. Tsunade is giving Shizune almost a death glare.

"You too…why'd you come to see me?" Jiraiya sighs.

"To tell the truth…the village of Konoha…has issued a request for you to be the Godaime Hokage." Naruto chokes on his food and I look at him.

"Naruto, are you okay?" Jiraiya pauses.

"The Third is…" Tsunade nods slightly.

"It was Orochimaru's work. I heard, he told me." Naruto slams his chopsticks on the table.

"The big snake guy? He's the one that killed our Hokage? Who the hell is this bastard?" I sigh and touch his shoulder.

"Calm down, Naruto. Mataku. You weren't paying attention to me before we left you idiot. Or did you just forget it?" He shrugs.

"Both." I sigh.

"He was with us…members of the Sannin." Naruto stands up, pulling me with him.

"What the hell? Weren't the Sannin from Konoha? Then why?" I sigh and Tsunade examines us.

"Who are these kids?" Jiraiya sighs.

"He's Uzumaki Naruto. And that one's Yoru Yaya." I frown and hit the table.

"Ora! Yami da, Ya-mi!" I sit down and stuff a bite of food into my mouth.

"I swear, are you really a girl? You eat too damn much. You'll get fat." I choke and glare at Naruto.

"You said something, Naruto-kun?" He recoils.

"Nope. Not at all." I nod and regain my composure. "But how come she gets to be Hokage? Why?" Jiraiya waves a hand.

"Quiet kid…so…your answer is? Are you willing to accept?" She thinks on it and I watch Shizune. "So…what's your answer?"

"Impossible…I decline." Not good. I stand up.

"Tsunade-san. Please, at least return to Konoha with us. We have comrades that are injured and you are the only known person that would be able to help them. If you change your mind about Jiraiya-san's request, then you can leave after that." Tsunade laughs curtly.

"It's strange of you to take on two apprentices at the same time, Jiraiya. Though that one is probably better than your last one. I'm not sure about the other, he seems worse, in looks and intelligence." Jiraiya smirks.

"I never said that Yaya was my apprentice. She's, by far, surpassed both of us. And it's tough for anyone to be compared to the Fourth…because he really had the talent…to become a top-rated ninja…he was smart, reliable, and handsome like me too!" I scoff.

"I feel sorry for the world if he was 'handsome like you'. Konno Baka-jiji." Tsunade puts her elbows on the table and rests her chin on her fists.

"But even that Fourth died quickly. He gave up his life for his village…life is different from money…it can't be gambled that easily…whoever puts it at risk so easily is a fool…my grandfather and the Second both focused too much on bringing peace to our home, more than anything else. But as a result, they just died in the middle of their dreams, like the losers…" She's going a bit far with her little speech.

I glance at Naruto and shake my head. He's getting pissed at her. "Being Hokage is a shit…no one but a fool would do it!" Oh no. Naruto. I get up and catch his fist at the same time that Jiraiya grabs the back of his jumpsuit.

"That's enough, Naruto." He shakes his head.

"But…let me go!" I sigh.

"Naruto! Think about where this is, you idiot." Naruto narrows his eyes.

"I can't forgive anyone that says bad things about our Hokage and the Fourth! I don't care if she is a woman! I'm going to kick her ass!" I sigh.

"Naruto. You can't even pull your fist out of my hand and you're saying you're gonna kick _Tsunade-san's_ ass?" Tsunade smirks.

"Heh. You've got some guts to say such things to me boy…let's take this outside…" Shizune frowns.

"Tsunade-sama…" Great. Both Jiraiya and I release Naruto and we head outside.


	16. Idiot

**Changed by Leaves 15- Idiot**

"I've been one of the Sannin…I don't even have to be serious to fight this little ninja boy." Naruto frowns.

"Shut up!" I sigh and touch my forehead. This is hopeless.

"You're going to get hurt, or worse, Naruto. And don't expect me to fix the damage when you do." With my minor skills at healing, it'll be difficult anyways.

"One finger should be enough…" Naruto attacks and she dodges his shuriken easily. She ducks in her advance as Naruto goes to hit her with a kunai, and she pulls the kunai out of his hand expertly and hits his chin with a single finger, knocking him back and knocking his Hitai-ate off. Finally, she flicks his forehead, sending him flying back. I roll my eyes.

"Told you so." Tsunade straightens up.

"Hey kid…I'll ask you one thing before you pass out…why…do you get so excited just by hearing the word 'Hokage'?" Naruto sits up and starts to stand.

"Unlike you…I really want to succeed the Hokage name…and I will…because it's my dream to become Hokage…" Tsunade drops her guard, suddenly upset. Oh no.

Naruto goes in for the attack with his almost mastered Rasengan. If he hits her with that…it'll spell bad news! Oh.

Tsunade lifts her hand, and with one finger, creates a fissure in the ground under Naruto, knocking him off balance and making him hit the ground. I hurry to help Naruto out of the hole.

"Are you okay? Konno Bakayaro!" Tsunade points at Jiraiya.

"Jiraiya! Was it you? Who's teaching him Rasengan?" The old man shrugs.

"I'm his master…in principle…" Tsunade scoffs.

"The only people that can use that jutsu are the Fourth and you…" I twitch and stand up, gathering chakra into my palm for Suiraiki.

"Say that to my face." Jiraiya sighs.

"Yaya mastered it after just watching me do it once. Like I said, she's probably surpassed us both. Maybe even Orochimaru too." Naruto laughs nervously beside me.

"Oy, Yaya, calm down before you electrocute me. You're sparking." I glance at Naruto and release my jutsu back into the atmosphere, which I was using to gather the water.

"So, that's one person. Teaching him something he cannot do, and believing you are his master…it's better if he doesn't think that way…so silly kids won't joke about foolish dreams like 'becoming Hokage'…" She's pissing me off again. And Naruto is getting pissed again as well.

"It's not a joke…Konno Baka-obaba!" Naruto jumps up.

"All I need is three days and I can master that technique…just you watch!" Tsunade scoffs.

"Heh…some words…brat…a man's words should never be taken back…" Naruto raises an eyebrow.

"Huh? I won't take my words back…that's my ninja way…" The woman smirks.

"Well then…is that so? I'll give you one week…if you can master that jutsu, I will acknowledge that you could become the Hokage…I'll give you this necklace…" Shizune gasps.

"Tsunade-sama! That is your precious…" Naruto frowns and crosses his arms.

"I don't want that kind of ugly necklace…" I tilt my head and get a good look at the necklace.

"That necklace…" That's the necklace of the First Hokage. It's legendary even in Kirigakure. Jiraiya lifts his hands.

"Don't say that, Naruto…that is a very unique and precious ore that belonged to the First Hokage…if you sold it, you could buy three mountains…" Naruto pauses.

"Well…alright then…" That idiot. But he wouldn't sell it. Because he's strange like that.

"But if you can't master that jutsu in a week, then you lose…all your money will belong to me…" Tsunade holds up Naruto's frog purse.

"Ah! My cute froggy!" My eye twitches slightly. When did she take his frog purse? Shizune stares at her teacher.

"What are you doing? That necklace is…" Tsunade smirks.

"Heh…it's not like he could accomplish it anyway…let's go Shizune!" Jiraiya sighs.

"Tsunade, can we have a drink together? It's been a while…" Tsunade stops and turns around.

"Shizune, you, Yaya, and Naruto go find a hotel to stay for the night…okay?" Shizune nods slowly.

"Okay…" We leave the two behind and locate a hotel. "Yaya, you should stay in the same room with me and Tsunade-sama." I smile.

"I'll be fine. Those two know better than to mess with me. Right, Naruto?" I glance at him and he nods dejectedly. Huh? I get in front of him and walk backwards. "What's up with you? Sulking because you got your butt kicked with one finger?" He shakes his head.

"No." I smirk.

"Oh, then it's because you got so ticked off in a split second? It's not like you to be like this. Cheer up…or I'll have to make you cheer up." I smile and turn back around. We get to a hotel and get two rooms. I end up going to the same room as Shizune and I sit down on the window sill.

I could take her on easily. Naruto didn't have to get into that fight. But…to protect his dream…I suppose it's only natural. It's in his nature to do everything he can to protect his dreams.

That's what I like about him. He's determined to do what it takes to fulfill his dreams and keep his word. I sigh and lean back against the side of the window. The door opens and I glance over. Tsunade is back. And she looks drunk. I look back outside and here her walking over.

"I've been wondering. Your last name is Yoru right? So you're from Kirigakure originally." I nod.

"Yea. What's it to you?" Tsunade smirks.

"You got pretty worked up back there, over what I said." I nod slightly.

"Because it was hurting Naruto's feelings. I can't forgive those that make him mad." Tsunade scoffs.

"And why is that? It doesn't make sense to get mad at someone just because they made someone else angry." I glare at her.

"You really are an idiot obaa-san then, if you don't understand something as simple as that. It's my dream…I suppose…to see Naruto happy. Truly happy. Those that get in the way of his happiness…are unforgivable." Tsunade pauses for a moment.

"Let me ask you something else, since you're so serious. If Naruto were to die…and someone offered to bring him back…" I frown.

"That's impossible. I'd die myself before I let anyone get close enough to kill Naruto. And even if that did happen, I wouldn't accept the offer. Because it would be a Kinjutsu to bring people back from the dead, and it wouldn't really be him." Tsunade nods slowly.

"Hm. I suppose you're right. Good night." I nod and look back out the window.

"Yea." I wonder why she asked me that.

*Six Days Later*

"How's it going, Naruto? I brought you some lunch. I figured that with all this work, you'd be hungry." He smiles slightly.

"Thanks." I look around the space. Rounded holes are all over the place.

"Hey Naruto?" He raises an eyebrow.

"What?" I frown.

"Do you need some help? It doesn't look like you've progressed much…at this rate you won't make it in time…" He laughs slightly.

"I'll definitely make it." I smile and we sit down with lunch.

"Yea, I guess you're right. You can do it." Naruto frowns and watches me.

"What's up with you this week? Every day, you're out here cheering me on. What happened to your training?" I shrug.

"I can train myself any time. It's not as important…" He raises an eyebrow.

"Huh?" I shake my head and dig in.

"Nothing." After we finish eating, Naruto goes back to training.


	17. The Seventh Day

**Changed by Leaves 16- The Seventh Day**

"Oh. Shizune-san. Naruto!" I get up from my perch on the window sill and hurry to the bed. "Idiot…you always do this to yourself…" I sigh and notice that his hand is burnt again. "It's just exhaustion and a burn on his hand from chakra, correct?" Shizune frowns.

"Yea…how did you know?" I sigh.

"Because, I don't hear any signs of damage. His muscles are a bit strained, but that's all." She looks totally confused.

"Hear…?" I nod.

"Yes. I can control water and hear the vibrations carried through liquid, including the liquid in the human body. I can also use minor medical jutsu. But he won't be able to make the deadline in the morning like this…he won't even be awake most likely…" Unless the Kyuubi heals his exhaustion as well.

Tsunade comes in and stares at Naruto. Shizune explains the situation and I glare at her. I blame her for this. He would have exhausted himself anyways, but if it weren't for her, he wouldn't have done it so quickly. He would have come back to the inn and rested when I asked him to instead of saying that he had to train.

"I'm gonna go look around. I'll be back in a little while to check on Naruto." I jump out the window and a cat runs out of the woods. "Ah! Haineko. Did you find anything?" The cat nods slightly.

"I traced the scent that I remembered from the exam and I think I found their hideout near here." I smile.

"Good job. Now to go investigate." Haineko pauses.

"Are you sure it will be okay without Naruto-kun and Jiraiya-jiji?" I nod and climb onto her back.

"It's fine. No worries, Haineko. We're just gonna go and investigate real quick." She sighs.

"Okay." We run through the forest towards the place that Haineko tracked them to and I touch her ear slightly.

"Stop. I hear something coming." Haineko nods slightly.

"So do I." We pause and listen.

"It could be problematic if there is interference during the exchange…" I know that voice. Orochimaru.

"What are you suggesting?" Kabuto? I narrow my eyes.

"That associate of Tsunade…it might be best if we kill her…" Shizune! Oh no. Kabuto stops running and changes course. Not good. Oh, he's not going to be passing near enough to us to spot us. Once both are out of hearing range, I direct Haineko silently back to the village. If we can cut off Kabuto, then that will save time for Shizune.

Oh! What if Orochimaru has a Kinjutsu to bring back someone precious to Tsunade? To get his arms fixed…I noticed that they were bandaged in the glimpse of him I caught. And he reeked of decay. I spot Kabuto.

"Caught you." Kabuto narrows his eyes.

"Who are…you?" I smirk.

"Nani-yo, Kabuto-sempai. You don't recognize me? From the exam?" I deepen my voice and both me and Haineko look up at him.

"You…you're the guy from Naruto-kun's team…Yoru Yami…" I grin.

"One and the same, asshole. What are you and Orochimaru plotting this time? I'm sure it has something to do with destroying Konoha right? Since that seems to be his latest goal." Kabuto smirks.

"Like I'll tell you that." He starts to run and I transport myself behind him, cutting him off.

"I don't think you have a choice." Maybe I can buy them time.

"Yami-kun…step aside before you get hurt." I act like I'm ignoring him. Haineko chuckles.

"Hey, Boss. I think he's talking to you…" I look at him.

"Huh? Oh, sorry. I wasn't paying attention. You said something about me getting hurt? That is highly unlikely." I reach down and realize that my weapons are in the hotel room! I grimace, and then smirk.

"Oh looks like you're unarmed. That's an advantage for me." I laugh.

"You think so? You have no idea who, or what, you're dealing with here. Haineko."

"Hai." She runs back into the forest, to take a different route to the hotel.

"Suirai-Senbon." I form the moisture into needles and they fly at Kabuto, immobilizing him immediately. "I don't have time to play with Jounin level idiots. Maybe Orochimaru will give me more of a challenge this time around. I had to hold back last time, because I couldn't hurt my friends, but I won't hold back the next time I encounter him. Or the next time I encounter you, for that matter. Count yourself lucky." I turn and jump across the roofs, tracking Tsunade's scent.

I've gathered chakra to my nose to enhance my sense of smell. Tsunade can't answer yes to Orochimaru. She even asked me what I would do if something happened to Naruto and I was put in a situation to choose if I would want him back. Of course I would, but it wouldn't be him.

To bring a person back to life, you'd probably need a sacrifice. A body to host the soul of the person you're bringing back. It wouldn't really be him if that happened. It would be Naruto, but it would only be his soul in another body, not totally Naruto. I get to the ruins of the castle and stop just in time.

I'm facing Kabuto again. He throws a kunai between Tsunade and Orochimaru, stopping her from 'healing' Orochimaru's arms. Her chakra was full of the intent to kill. They glance at him and he jumps down to stand behind Orochimaru, at a decent distance.

"What is this…to come this far…and betray me…Tsunade!" Ugh, that voice…it's definitely him. "How could you come to an answer like this…Tsunade-hime? To try to kill me…" The feeling of his chakra…it's the same as then.

I was afraid back then…because I didn't want to be exposed…I didn't want to be exposed or hurt my friends…hell, I'm afraid now, though it's not as overwhelming a fear as before. "But I trust you, Kabuto, from the bottom of my heart. Your loyalty…and the ability to see Tsunade's attack…"

"Yes…we both began from the medical field so…her chakra was full of intent to kill…"

"Tsunade…I really intended to revive those two…and I even promised not to destroy Konoha…" That would be a lie. He isn't an honest person. Anyone that would hunt down a team of kids for the hell of it isn't honest. I have to go make sure that Jiraiya, Shizune, and Naruto know where Tsunade and Orochimaru are. So we can handle things. I turn around and leap off the roof, heading straight to the hotel.

"Jiraiya! Shizune! Naruto!" I stop in front of them.

"What's up?"

"Tsunade refused the deal. I was just looking for you guys. We should get back there."

"Right. Lead the way." I whistle and Haineko shows up.

"Come on." I get onto her back and we hurry back to the castle area.

"W-what's this?"

"Whoa…that princess Tsunade has gone pretty wild…"

"They probably moved to a more open area. Let's go." I twitch my head and Haineko tracks them down.

"There's a fight going on. Not between Orochimaru and Tsunade, but Kabuto is her opponent."

"We should lie in wait until it gets the right moment."

"It will come quickly. Kabuto is at a higher level than Kakashi. I can tell by the way the air reacts to him. Even Tsunade could have some trouble against him." Ah. Looks like Kabuto is immobilized by an electric attack. Oh. That was quick. He's back in action and about to attack Tsunade.

I can't hear what he's saying without wasting chakra. "Now." We transport in front of Tsunade and Kabuto stops his attack.

"Long time no see…Jiraiya…"

"Yo, yo, you haven't changed at all…those wild eyes…"

"Naruto-kun, Yami-kun."

"Ah?" I sigh. "Ka-Kabuto-san…?"

"I see you know who he is…"

"Leave it Naruto."

"Move!"

"Let someone his own size handle him, Tsunade-san." I block her with a wall of chakra and she stares at me. "I believe we have a fight to settle, Kabuto."

"I'm surprised you're a guy."

"Heh, news flash. I'm a girl dumbass." I gather water into my hand and spin it around. "Shall we?"

"If you really want to get killed." I shrug and swing my hand, sending the water flying at him in a sharp line. It hits and sends him flying back. I smirk and pull up my leg, spinning around and sending a blast of water at him. I continue throwing streams of water at Kabuto and finish off with a flow of lightning. It strikes Kabuto and I catch it in the form of a whip.

"Scary."

"Yes. She is." I smirk.

"Come at me, if you can."


	18. Battle Against the Sannin

**Changed by Leaves 17- Battle Against The Sannin**

"Hey, Yaya, why are you attacking Kabuto-san?" I sigh.

"Take a good look at his Hitai-ate. He's a sound spy." Naruto pauses.

"Wha…how?" I roll my eyes.

"Just cut the questions, Naruto." Kabuto smirks.

"She's right…I am a Sound spy." Naruto stares at Kabuto.

"Wha…what are you saying? You're lying right, Kabuto-san…" The traitor smirks.

"Naruto-kun, I have concluded something from your data. Unlike Sasuke-kun…you have no talent in becoming a Shinobi." That pisses Naruto off and I look at Kabuto. I roll my shoulders.

"You know, it really pisses me off when I'm ignored. And just so you know, I get really dangerous when I'm pissed." I snap the lightning whip and attack Kabuto. "Let's scramble your nervous system a bit more shall we?" I wrap the lightning around him and he yells as the electricity goes into his body, paralyzing him.

I disperse the lightning and blow a bit of smoke off of my palm. "Next? Good luck figuring out how to move. My lightning is rather thorough. Don't you think?" I put my hand on my hip and glance at Orochimaru. Oh just looking at that guy pisses me off. I clench my free hand and notice that Kabuto still can't move.

Good. "Naruto, don't even think about jumping in like an idiot this time. Just because I'm fine doesn't mean anything for you." Orochimaru chuckles.

"You're no average Genin, that's for certain." I smirk.

"What gave you that idea? Have a stroke of genius suddenly? If that's the case, take your crony and leave. Otherwise, I'll have you know. You won't dodge my attacks this time. You were lucky back in Konoha."

"Yaya, don't egg him on. There's no way you'd be able to fight against him." I look back at Jiraiya.

"Watch me. Tsunade-san, you might want to heal yourself. And all of you stay out of my way. I've got a serious thing against this guy and I intend to at least alleviate a bit of it."

"And how do you intend to do that? You're just a kid." I look at Shizune and smile slightly.

"You really don't know anything about me, Shizune. Stay out of this. Oh. Looks like I wasted time. You can move again? Well, I guess I didn't fry your nervous system enough. Oh well." Time for my personal style and abandon the ninja façade. I smirk and close my eyes.

"What are you doing?" I concentrate.

"You'll see. There's another reason why I'm feared in Kirigakure." I hear sparks around me and put my hands together in my special sign, Neko. I hear a gasp from behind me and I open my eyes. "Meet your worst nightmare boys." I step off the ground and float about a foot off the ground.

'_You're really going to fight with this form? No one has lived after seeing it. Are you really going to let the spectators live?'_ This form…my 'true form'.

"What is that?" I sigh.

"I'll explain later." I've completely cast off the façade of a guy and transformed into my second form. There are two seals on me, one over the Rokubi and her chakra, the other over my own chakra.

I can only fight using about a fourth of my natural strength normally. When I release the seal, I change appearance completely, my hair grows out to be twice as long as its current length (Which is about my mid back, making my hair hit my knees), my clothes change into a black dress without sleeves or back, my ears disappear and are replaced with cat ears on top of my head, I grow a tail that has black stripes along it (the fur is the same midnight blue as my hair), and retractable wings form on my back that look like black fish fins. I don't have to use hand signs at all in this form.

I rise into the air and dive at Kabuto, forming a ball of lightning in my hand. He dodges and I turn to hit him, sending him back. I stop and float, my wings fluttering quickly. Now to hit Orochimaru. I look over at him and transport myself to stand behind him, instantly gathering together my Suiraiki. I smirk and hit him with the attack. I transport myself back in front of the others and retract my wings.

I dust my hands together and watch the two guys. "I said I was your worst nightmare. You _don't_ piss me off."

"Um, Yaya, they're getting up."

"What the hell are you? No one has ever been able to live, much less stand up, after getting hit full on by me!"

"Perhaps, our assistance is required?" I fume and sigh.

"Whatever." Huh, I managed to make Kabuto bleed. Oh. The bandage on Orochimaru's left arm falls off, revealing a summoning charm. Kabuto runs a line of blood along the charm at the same time that Jiraiya starts to summon a frog.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" Two giant snakes appear, but a small frog is the only result for Jiraiya.

"Yo." Jiraiya stares at the little frog.

"Wha…what…?"

"Ah…!"

"Your stupidity still hasn't been cured…Jiraiya. Then I will attack first!" Crap. I jump into the air and create a barrier of water and lightning.

"Get that jutsu of yours straightened out Jiraiya-san!" Oh. "Naruto." He does the summoning jutsu and summons another useless frog. I sigh and land in front of them. "Boys are so useless. Here." I hold my hands towards Jiraiya and Naruto, sending my chakra into their bodies, infusing my chakra with theirs.

That should cure the remnants of the effects of that poison in Jiraiya's system, and help Naruto with the Kyuubi. "It figures. You guys always need a girl to help before you can do anything. Get your act together for heaven's sake." Ah crap. The snakes attack, breaking through my barrier. I grab Naruto and the toad he summoned and carry them through the air over the cloud of dust. I'm not physically strong enough to carry Jiraiya too. "You okay, Naruto?"

"Yea. Can you put me down now?"

"Sure thing. Hold on." I wink and blow towards the ground, sending a strong blast of wind to clear the dust. I land and let go of Naruto and the frog.

"Thanks lady."

"No problem. Naruto. You should be able to do something. Help. I'll take care of Tsunade-san. You come with me, little guy." I pick up the frog and fly over to Shizune and Tsunade. Shizune is doing her best to protect Tsunade from Kabuto. "Tsunade-san, are you okay?" I touch her back and send my chakra into her body, using its healing attributes. Huh?

Blood. Shizune! I look up and notice that she was knocked down. I stand up and face Kabuto. "You're really pissing me off, you know. First you're able to move after taking a hit from my lightning and then again when I hit you at full power." We clash and I form a needle of water in my hand. "Why don't you and Orochimaru run for the hills? There's no way you'll be able to win."

"What makes you so sure? All you did was change clothes and grow wings. You're no different than before." I smirk.

"Oh, contraire. What you've witnessed as being my 'limit' is the one fourth of my chakra that hasn't been sealed. What I did was release the seal. I'm four times as powerful as before. So bug off, boy."

"I don't think you're in the position to call me that." I smirk and push him back.

"Really? Wanna say that again? Cuz I'll blast you into next century. Oh, and if you're thinking that you crushed Naruto's spirit with your little speech earlier, you're sadly mistaken. And I won't forgive someone that thinks like that. Hah!" I attack him and straighten up, dusting my hands. "If you know what's good for you, you'll stay down." And of course, he doesn't. I sigh and look around for Naruto. There he is!

Shit. I drop to my knees and shudder. My body hasn't gotten used to the flow of my chakra again. I wasn't expecting it to hit me like this though. I notice Kabuto coming in for the attack while I'm down and Naruto gets in front of me, taking the blow. "Naruto…"

"That kid…"

"Don't you know it's rude to attack a girl when she's not moving?" Huh? Naruto charges Rasengan and goes to attack Kabuto. No. Kabuto could easily dodge it. And I still can't move. Damn it! After a few moments of tussling, Kabuto stabs a kunai into Naruto's hand and Naruto creates a Kage-bunshin. "It'll hit this time." And it does. I stare at Naruto as he sends Kabuto flying, but Naruto falls back and I catch him.

"Naruto? Oy, Naruto, answer me." I can move again, that's good. Tsunade is over here in an instant and glances at Kabuto. "You took that attack…you…"

"I collected chakra in my abdomen before I took that attack and began recovering immediately. I'm the one who saved Orochimaru's life. It's senseless to try and kill me with that technique. My resilience is overwhelming. An ability that allows me to activate all of my cells, thus creating new cells with which to replace the damaged ones…this technique…it looks like Naruto-kun's last gamble…" Kabuto gasps and blood pours from his mouth before he collapses.

"Finally. Looks like you used too much chakra recovering from my attacks." Naruto coughs, drawing our attention to him again. Tsunade presses her ear to his chest and her eyes widen. His heartbeat is erratic. I back up and let Tsunade take care of Naruto. I can barely move.

"Heh…it's too late for you, Naruto…the chakra in your heart muscles…has been sapped…the blood flow…to your heart…has been cut off…at your utmost power…I've cut off any potential for you to recover on your own…"

"Shut up!" I close my eyes and listen. Tsunade is using medical jutsu to try to heal him. I…I'll use the connection between Bijuu to get the Kyuubi to help. Despite the dangerous effects of the chakra of a Bijuu, it also heals, making the recovery rate of a jinchuriki extremely faster than a normal person.


	19. The Battle

**Changed by Leaves 18- The Battle's Climax**

I can't make a connection. I should have known from the last time I dealt with this stupid thing. I open my eyes and notice Naruto touching the necklace that Tsunade is wearing.

"The…bet…I won…" I smile slightly, so does Tsunade. She starts crying too.

"It's your dream to become Hokage, so…" She takes the necklace off and puts it around Naruto's neck. Jiraiya and Orochimaru are fighting. Oh. I notice Orochimaru coming this way, and slamming Jiraiya into the ground to prevent him from helping. Orochimaru has a sword coming out of his mouth. Naruto! He's targeting Naruto. On instinct, I get in the way and take the blow. I smirk and Orochimaru gasps.

"Bad idea." The wound is already healing.

"Stupid girl…I wasn't trying to kill you." I sigh.

"Who said you could kill me? Get your sword out of my chest before you really piss me off." Instead of pulling the sword out, he pushes it further into my chest. I start laughing. "That tickles, stop it! No seriously, stop." I back up and plant my foot on his face, pushing him back about four meters.

I pull the sword out of my chest and throw it at Orochimaru, intending to run him through with it. Instead, he catches it in his mouth and I shudder. He really creeps me out.

"If that brat survives, he'll cause a great deal of trouble for me later on…don't get in my way…" I frown.

"Hm…hell no. I'm going to protect him no matter what. And since you can't kill me, it's gonna take a lot to get to Naruto." I glance back at Tsunade, who is trembling. Her fear of blood. Orochimaru's next strike hits Tsunade, who moved just as quickly as I did a moment ago to block him from hitting me again.

"You too, Tsunade…? Humph…trembling in fear of blood. Why of all the Shinobi, Tsunade…of the Densetsu no Sannin from Konoha…why are you risking your life to protect two worthless Genin brats?" That's my question.

Not that Naruto and I are brats, and I sure as hell ain't a Genin. Just before I had gone after Naruto and Jiraiya to help against that pair of Akatsuki, I had received a note from the council of elders saying that after the new Hokage was selected, I would have to go through paperwork to finalize my promotion to Chunin. Because of my efforts to aid Konoha during the attack and my ability in that fight against Gaara.

"To protect…Konoha…" Wow, she sounds like a Hokage.

"…To protect Konoha?" Tsunade looks back at me and Naruto, smiling slightly.

"You want to know why? This kid…is the future Hokage of Konoha…" Orochimaru frowns.

"What are you babbling about? Besides…Hokage is worthless…only fools would want it…" I touch Tsunade's shoulder.

"Don't get yourself killed over this, Tsunade-san. Konoha needs you."

"From now on…I, too. Shall. Bet. My. Life!" She stands up, shrugging off my hand.

"Feh! If you're going to throw away your life for a pair of worthless brats like them…then die like the worthless trash you're protecting!" Orochimaru slashes her across the shoulder. Tsunade falls back and I gasp. She shouldn't do this. "Now…as for Naruto-kun…"

"Tsunade-sama!" Oh no. I bind Tsunade with chakra and cover Naruto.

"You're…not touching him." The blade barely scratched me. He jumps back, pushing me to the other side of Naruto in the process. I get up and roll my shoulders.

"You worthless trash…" I release the chakra binding Tsunade and she gets up, her trembling halted. She punches Orochimaru back, a symbol appearing on her face.

"Why am I doing this? Because now…I am the Godaime Hokage of Konohagakure!" The scratch on my side from Orochimaru's blade is healed and Tsunade's wounds are healing quickly.

"Wa…wait! Tsunade-sama! I'll heal your wounds! Please don't open that seal!" I have to get Naruto to safety. It looks like Tsunade and Jiraiya will handle the rest. I pick up Naruto and carry him to a hidden area behind a rock. I can't hear the conversations anymore. "Tsunade-sama!"

"Orochimaru-sama! The Manda!"

"Here, hurry!"

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" Three people shout at the same time and I look over the rock as three giant animals appear. A giant snake, a slug, and a frog. I recognize the frog as Gamabunta. And the Rokubi is watching as well.

'_Manda and Katsuyu. The snake and slug.'_ I nod slightly as she provides the names.

"Hey, Dad!"

"Gamatatsu, we gotta get outta here!" I look around and spot the two little frogs and the pig.

"Oy! Gamakichi! Gamatatsu! You guys get over here." The frogs and pig run over and hide behind the rock with me. Now, to find Shizune. I spot her and wave. She runs over and hides behind the rock as well.

"Are you okay, Yaya-san? You took quite the blow before." I nod and turn around.

"I'm fine. The wound healed as soon as it was inflicted. That's one of my abilities. Particularly when I have released the seal on my chakra. How about you? Your leg okay?"

"Yes." I nod.

"That's good." I turn towards Naruto.

"What are you doing? You're not going to watch the fight?" I shake my head.

"No. I have no reason to. I know from experience that once it looks like he's about to lose, Orochimaru will flee." I can feel Shizune staring at me.

"When did you encounter him before?" I sigh.

"Back in Konoha, a few months ago. When it looked like he was about to lose, he left." I'm not going to mention that he only left after putting that curse mark on Sasuke.

"Oh dear god!" I frown.

"What? What happened, Shizune?" She tugs my arm up.

"Look for yourself." I turn around and look at the fight. Manda is wrapped around Katsuyu and Gamabunta has his sword in the snake's mouth. The slug turns into a thousand smaller slugs and gets out of the grip. I turn around again and touch Naruto gingerly. The only damage is to his muscles. I can take care of it. I concentrate and push chakra into my hands, healing.

"Tsunade, get away from there!" I sit back after a few moments and smile. Now it's just a matter of time until he wakes up.

"Hey. You should come watch. It's amazing." I turn around and gasp. Manda is attacking Gamabunta from behind, but Tsunade is in the air, carrying the sword that Gamabunta dropped. She stabs the snake's mouth shut and Shizune and I cheer.

"Alright!" I punch the air.

"Keep it shut!" Shizune gasps.

"Ah!" Orochimaru personally attacks her with his own tongue and I shudder.

"There is no end to how much that guy creeps me out."

"Let's end this!" Tsunade grabs the tongue and loosens the hold around her neck, pulling Orochimaru towards her at the same time. She punches him in the face when he's close enough and he flies onto Manda's head. Shizune and I start cheering again and Manda disappears.

"I am immortal!" With that, Orochimaru and Kabuto disappear.

"Wait!" I look at Shizune and she nods. We both jump over the rock and run towards Jiraiya and Tsunade. Gamabunta and Katsuyu disappear and the four of us head back over to the rock.

"Humph, Tsunade you still suck at betting, as always." She sighs.

"Now the after effects…" Shizune frowns and steadies Tsunade.

"Tsunade-sama…" She starts to age and I sigh. So that's the after effects of that regenerative jutsu she used earlier.

"Tsunade…" Jiraiya watches her and she smiles slightly.

"Heh…if I rest a bit, I'll soon revert to my young self. Let's rest in the village until Naruto wakes up, then we'll head back to Konoha."

"Tsunade…" She smirks.

"Don't refer to me with that name; from now on…call me…Godaime." I roll my eyes and pick up Naruto.

"Let's go then, everyone."


	20. New Hokage

**Changed by Leaves 19- New Hokage**

"Godaime Hokage?" I laugh.

"So, Tsunade-obaba is gonna become the fifth Hokage starting today eh…?" I clap him on the shoulder.

"What are you irritated with, Naruto?" He crosses his arms.

"Because if you compare her with the third, she's rough, selfish, loose with money, easily pissed off, and stupid…" I laugh.

"I think that's true, with all but the money thing, for most women, Naruto. You have to get used to that." I wink and chuckle at his expression.

"Are you sure she can do it? I'm worried…" Shizune sighs.

"Tsunade-sama…do you want to order something?" I sigh. This is the start of another situation like the last time we were at this particular pub.

"Besides, isn't she a 50-year-old obaba? She's faking her youth…someone like the Hokage shouldn't deceive everyone like that…" Tsunade's eye twitches and she hits the table.

"Let's take this outside, Gaki (Brat)!" I sigh and we all go outside. This is really exactly like the last time. "Humph, I'm Hokage no matter what you say…don't need to be serious with a brat like you." She holds up one finger. "This is all I need."

"Stop calling me a brat damn it! I'll be Hokage someday too!" She smiles slightly.

"Come on!" Naruto rushes at Tsunade and she sweeps her finger under his chin, pushing him back, same as last time. Naruto goes to punch her and she dodges. This is really going the same way as before.

She starts to flick his forehead, but touches his chin and kisses his forehead. After a second, she touches his chest and backs up, smiling. "Become a good man…" Naruto grins like an idiot and puts his Hitai-ate back on.

"Roger!" Jiraiya points towards Konoha.

"Alright! Let's head to Konoha!" Naruto gasps.

"What! I haven't eaten yet!" I roll my eyes and we go back into the pub to eat. After we finish eating, we set out.

"Keep up, Naruto!" Jiraiya watches me.

"So, Yaya-san, are you going to go back to being a 'boy'?" I nod slowly.

"I sort of have to. It's too dangerous for me if I don't." Tsunade raises an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?" I sigh.

"I'm on the run from a group of criminals. And besides, I've gone this long as a 'boy', I can survive."

"We're back!" Naruto and I both punch the air.

"Yea!" Tsunade laughs slightly.

"First, we have to let the elders know." I sigh.

"This is annoying." Naruto nods in agreement.

"Yea I know. She's still gotta help out Sasuke and Gejimayu." I nod and we all head to the main office building. We head up to the roof, where the elders are and Tsunade goes to the rail. I cross my arms impatiently.

"The village has changed quite a bit while I was gone…starting today, the village is my responsibility as…the Godaime Hokage." She turns and steps towards us.

"I am surprised you were able to persuade her…" Jiraiya touches his chin.

"Hah! A handsome devil like myself only needs his charm to persuade anyone!" Says the guy that nearly died of poison.

"Well, then let's gather the local lords and celebrate the inauguration of the fifth Hokage. Genma, Aoba, announce this to the village." The two Jounin present salute.

"Aye!" The two disappear and I wave a hand.

"Wait up!" Naruto nods.

"Tsunade-obaba has some stuff to take care of first!" I gasp and turn.

"Ah! Speaking of stuff to do. I gotta go!" I run inside and run into Shikamaru and his dad.

"Hey, Yoru." I wave.

"Yo." Shikamaru watches me.

"Where are you heading in such a hurry, Yoru-kun?" I sigh.

"Got some damn paperwork to fill out. I had totally forgotten about it." His dad laughs slightly.

"Then you're heading the wrong direction." Shikamaru raises an eyebrow.

"You passed too, Yoru?" I nod once.

"Yea." He watches me.

"Where you been?" I smirk.

"Secret." Shikamaru nods slowly and then waves.

"Hey! What's up Naruto? What are you doing here?" I turn around and sigh.

"I was about to ask you the same thing! The only building around here is the ninja administration." Shikamaru shrugs.

"Nothing really, just taking care of annoying business." Naruto frowns.

"Huh, what is it?" I sigh and touch my forehead. Naruto is such a dunce.

"Er…how are you, Tsunade-sama, Jiraiya-sama?" Jiraiya frowns.

"Hey, aren't you from the Nara family? Who's that kid?" Tsunade smiles slightly.

"Are you taking care of your deer? Their antlers make good medicine." Shikamaru's dad bows slightly.

"Yes, Ma'am." I sigh in exasperation.

"Hey, who's that young woman with the big attitude?" I chuckle.

"She's the new Hokage." Naruto puts a hand near his mouth secretively.

"And although she looks young, she's really fifty!" Shikamaru winces and I cover my mouth, trying to suppress my laughter. "Well, I'll see you later!"

"Farewell, Ma'am." Naruto waves at Shikamaru.

"Hey Shikamaru, let's meet up later, alright? I'll show you my cool new move! See ya!" Naruto turns and gets hit in the head by Jiraiya. I sigh and look at Shikamaru's dad.

"Do you mind helping me? I have no idea where to go to get that stupid paperwork or whatever taken care of." He nods once.

"Sure." I turn to Naruto and Jiraiya.

"Stupid Naruto! What kind of Shinobi shows off his jutsu?"

"Ow!" Shikamaru watches Tsunade warily.

"So that woman is going to be the Fifth Hokage huh? Who is she?" His dad frowns.

"Shikamaru. She's the world's strongest and most beautiful woman. She's the Kunoichi of the Densetsu no Sannin." Shikamaru sighs.

"Damn, a woman Hokage. I hate women, they're selfish and annoying…they always act all cordial and friendly. I can never tell if they're really getting along or not…besides, they think that they can boss us guys around…damn, I hate girls." I nod slightly. I do hate girls, despite being one myself. Bunch of shallow brats—here in Konoha at least.

"I completely understand." Shikamaru's dad turns to us.

"Listen to me, both of you. There wouldn't be any men if there weren't any women. Men are no good without any women around. Even the roughest woman is tender to the guy she loves. You'll understand when you grow up." That's true too. Shikamaru's dad starts to leave. "Well then! Didn't you two have stuff to finish? I'll be going now, if I'm late, your mom's gonna scold me." My eye twitches. Didn't he just say that he'd help me? I sigh and shake my head.

"Great. I have no idea where the hell I'm supposed to go." Shikamaru sighs and touches his forehead.

"Damn. That doesn't make sense." Shikamaru turns and starts walking. I follow him stupidly, not knowing what to do. "You're really lost aren't you?"

"Yea." I scratch the back of my head, embarrassed.


	21. Mission Assignment

**Changed by Leaves 20- Mission Assignment**

"Mind if I join you? I figured you'd be here." I grin at Naruto and Iruka as I step into Ichiraku. Naruto turns and waves.

"Hey Yami!" Iruka smiles at me.

"Hello, Yoru-kun." I nod slightly to my former teacher.

"Afternoon, Iruka-sensei." I sit down beside Naruto and order.

"What's with the vest, Yami?" I touch a pocket.

"This? This is that business that I had to take care of. I got promoted." Naruto gasps.

"Dude! How? Your fight was interrupted." I shrug.

"Yea, but just before the attack started, the ref announced my win." Iruka nods slightly.

"Shikamaru passed as well." Naruto looks shocked.

"Shikamaru's a Chunin now too? Why?" Iruka sighs.

"Didn't you hear what Hokage-sama said? Even if you lose a match, if you have enough skills, you will become a Chunin. Shikamaru fought the battles with intelligence…the village council rated him high and he was acknowledged." Naruto frowns.

"What? Then what about me?" The teacher sighs.

"Yoru-kun and Shikamaru were the only ones promoted." I laugh when Naruto sighs.

"Don't worry, Naruto. You'll get your chance." My bowl of ramen comes out and I start eating. Naruto is going into a spill about our trip.

"Yami kicked ass! It was awesome; he didn't even hardly touch them!" I get another bowl and dig in. "And! And! I used my new ultimate move, the Rasengan, and it was awesome! All the bad guys went flying and I…" I shake my head and get up, paying for my food.

"See you around." I wonder how Sasuke's doing. I head to the hospital and up to Sasuke's room. I knock on the door and poke my head in. "Hey." I go inside and lean on the wall. "Good to see you're awake, Sasuke." He glares at me and I sigh. "Hey Sakura. Sorry about last time." She shrugs.

"No problem. Where did you disappear to? You've been gone the entire time."

"I was helping to bring in Tsunade-obaba." She finishes slicing her apple and turns to Sasuke.

"Sasuke-kun, want some apples?" He slaps the plate out of her hands, pissed. "Sasuke-kun?" Great. Huh? A bird on the window? Oh! I sigh.

"See you around." I leave the room and head to Tsunade's office. "What's with the birds going around?" She smirks.

"Mission assignments. You'll be leading a small team of more experienced Genin." The door opens and a group of three walk into the room.

"Ah shit." I recognize two of them as being former Kirigakure ninja. The other one, I don't recognize.

"Something wrong?" I sigh.

"Not at all." Tsunade grins.

"You can save the introductions for when you leave. For now, the mission is simple; you're escorting a merchant back to his home village. The village is two day's south of here." We nod and she smiles dismissively. I sigh and start to leave the room. "You're meeting the client at the gate in thirty minutes." I nod and wave on my way out.

"See you, Tsunade-obaba."

"You should be more polite to the Hokage." I glance at the guy that spoke, one of the two from Kirigakure. I shrug.

"Eh? She doesn't care. It's just me." The girl frowns.

"You act like she's a friend of yours." I nod slightly.

"I should think so. I was part of the team that brought her back to the village to be Hokage in the first place. The name's Yami, by the way." One of the guys frowns.

"You're a bit young to be a Chunin, aren't you?" I shrug.

"Don't know what you're talking about. If I got the promotion, I got the promotion." And I'm thirteen now, age doesn't matter. But then again, this guy's probably about fifteen.

"Hard to believe that a little shrimp like you would be able to pass that exam." I smirk.

"If you failed it, I don't think you're quite in the position to complain about size." The girl raises an eyebrow.

"Hey, you're the guy that slept through most of the first exam. Did you even answer any of the questions on the test?" I nod once.

"Yes, I finished the test within fifteen minutes and went to sleep. If you have a problem with it, then shut up." I walk faster and leave the building, heading towards the gate. The three of them catch up with me and I sigh. "Are you just going to follow me? Eventually, you'll have to tell me your names."

The girl, I recognize as a Hyuuga, by her eyes. And the two guys are formerly from Kirigakure. I can tell that just by the way they carry themselves. They're uncomfortable in this tree filled, leafy village. The girl smiles slightly.

"Hyuuga Minako." The guy with shorter hair shrugs.

"Whatever. I'm Yoru Kai." The other guy sighs.

"Yoru Kohaku." I stop dead in my tracks and look at the two guys. Impossible.

"What?" I frown.

"Yoru…you say?" Kohaku nods once.

"Yea. What about it?" I raise an eyebrow.

"Didn't the Yoru clan get wiped out…twelve years ago?" Both of them nod.

"Yea. So?" I frown and shake my head.

"That doesn't make sense. You say that your last name is Yoru, and yet that clan was wiped out twelve years ago." I examine them inconspicuously. They look like they could be twins, both have midnight blue hair, Kai's is to his shoulders and Kohaku's is longer, but held back in a loose ponytail, and both have pitch black eyes. "And besides that, so far as I remember, I was the last of them." They both look confused.

"Huh?" I sigh.

"My full name is Yoru Yami." Minako sighs.

"Hey, guys, we're wasting time. It takes a good ten minutes to get to the south gate from here." I nod once.

"Yes. Family matters aside. There's a mission to handle." Kohaku scoffs.

"Though I'm slightly against going under this brat." I sigh. It's going to be a long few days. We head to the gate and Minako leaves when we reach a certain street.

"I've got a few things to get from home. I'll meet up with you guys in a few."

"Kay." We get to the gate and I lean on the edge. I spot Kakashi-sensei and wave.

"Hey, Kakashi-sensei!"

"Oh, hey Yami-kun. You going on a mission too?"

"Yea. You're fully recovered?"

"Not quite. But a mission is a mission. You with a team?" He glances at the guys and I nod.

"Yea. You going solo?" Huh? I look towards the hospital. So does Kakashi-sensei. I frown at a sound from that direction. Chidori. Kakashi-sensei disappears, like he heard it too. I hope that Sasuke and Naruto aren't fighting. But then again, that's probably exactly what they're doing. The lunatics. Minako gets back and we wait for the client to show. A woman walks over to us.

"Are you my escorts?"

"If you're Jina-san."

"Yes, I am. Hajimemashite." I nod.

"Then, we'll go through introductions, a weapon check, and then get going. I'm the team captain, Yami."

"Yoru Kai da."

"Kohaku."

"Hyuuga Minako. Hajimemashite, Jina-san." Kai smirks and looks at me.

"So what's the plan, boss?" All eyes are on me. I sigh.

"Simple. We move surrounding Jina-san. I'll take the forward position. Minako-san will take the rear. Kai and Kohaku can take either side. Now, a weapon check."


	22. Rescue?

**Changed by Leaves 21- Rescue?**

"I hadn't realized that it was a Kekkei Genkai." Kohaku laughs slightly as we walk back towards the village.

"What did you think it was, Yami-kun?" I hesitate. Do they know about the Rokubi? And if they do, they would know that I was a girl.

"I dunno." Kai chuckles.

"Man, you were depraved of some major training. But then again, you're pretty good. You grow up in Kiri?" I nod slightly.

"Yea." Kohaku groans.

"Why'd you leave? I'd almost kill to go back there." I shrug.

"I got tired of it. Simple as that." Minako laughs slightly.

"Honestly, you three. You've been jabbering like a bunch of girls since we started for home." That shuts Kai and Kohaku up and I laugh slightly. We get to the gate and I spot Sakura, waiting for something. I frown.

"Sakura, what's up?" She gasps and hugs me.

"Yami-kun! You're back! It's terrible!" I pause and push her back.

"What happened? Calm down, first though. You'll give yourself a heart attack like that." She's been crying.

"Sasuke…he left…" I back up and drop my hands.

"What? When? Why? Do you know where he went?" She sniffles.

"Sasuke left. Last night around midnight. I have no clue. And to Orochimaru." I clench my fists at the last answer and turn around. "Yami-kun? What are you doing? Naruto, Neji-san, Shikamaru, Chouji, and Kiba already left this morning after him." I frown and start walking.

"I'll be back. I have a bad feeling. Kai, Kohaku, Minako, do me a favor and go let Tsunade-obaba know where I went and that the mission went well. Also, it might be a good idea for her to send out at least two medical teams." They nod and run to the office. I run back into the forest and concentrate. I know those guys well enough to be able to locate them.

I find Chouji first, passed out and breathing very slowly. I check his pulse and nod slightly. His heart is beating regularly, but his body is worn out. As though he exhausted nearly all of his chakra. And I passed a dead guy on the way, so it was probably a fight. I summon Haineko. "Haineko, stay here. There should be a medical team arriving soon. When you catch their scent, signal."

"Hai." I start running again, in the direction of Neji. He's in worse shape than Chouji. I shudder and check to make sure he's alive. He is. But he's bleeding heavily, and his left lung was punctured. He's lucky that whatever hit him didn't hit his heart. I push my chakra into the wounds, unable to heal them fully, but able to stop the bleeding.

I summon Minya this time and give her the same instructions as I gave Haineko. I run as fast as I can to catch up with Kiba. It looks like so far, they've been rather successful in taking care of the enemy. I skid to a halt when I spot Kankuro, along with Kiba and Akamaru.

"Reinforcements?" I shake my head.

"Nope. I was out on a mission and just got back to the village. I heard and came running. Simple as that." I hear Haineko's signal and smile.

"What was that?" I smirk.

"A signal. So that the medical teams can find the others." Kankuro nods approvingly.

"Okay, that was smart." I shrug.

"Are either of you injured?" I direct the question to Kiba, because it's obvious that Kankuro isn't injured.

"Not too bad." I nod.

"That's good. Do you know where the others are?" He shakes his head.

"No. We split up. Shikamaru and Naruto were chasing the last one and Sasuke." Kankuro smirks.

"Temari and Gaara should be handling things." I nod slowly and glance at my hand. I still have enough blood on my hand for another summon. I summon Sora and climb onto her back.

"There should be medics coming. I'm going to see if the others need help." Both guys nod.

"Okay." I pat Sora's neck lightly.

"Let's go Sora." She starts running.

"Where to?" I sigh.

"After Naruto." She nods slightly.

"Okay." We catch up with Shikamaru first and stop.

"Hey, Yami. What are you doing here?" I shrug.

"Seeing if I can help. Hey Temari-san." She smirks.

"Hey, Yoru." I sigh.

"No injuries?" Temari shakes her head.

"Nope." Shikamaru holds up his hand.

"I broke my finger, but that's it." I smirk.

"You get caught in a genjutsu?" Shikamaru frowns.

"What makes you say that?" I shrug.

"Lucky guess. Where's Naruto?" Shikamaru shrugs.

"He went after Sasuke." I nod. Another signal sounds. I smile slightly.

"Looks like they've found both of them." Both look confused.

"Huh?" I sigh.

"On the way, I ran into Chouji, Neji, and Kiba. Chouji is out cold, worn out, and Neji was near death when I got there. The medical teams must have gotten there."

"That what that signal means?" I nod.

"Yep." Shikamaru frowns.

"What about Kiba and Akamaru?" I shrug.

"They're fine. Both are pretty badly injured, but it's nothing a short stay in the hospital won't fix. Let's go, Sora." She starts running again and we stop at a strange thing. A forest of bones? "Sora, go ahead, track down Naruto. Signal when you find him. I'll catch up." I get off of her back and she runs off, around the bones. I jump into the air and balance on top of one of them. I spot Gaara and Lee and jump over.

"Yo." Gaara nods slightly.

"Yoru." Lee smiles.

"Hey Yami-kun." I smile slightly.

"How's it going? No injuries I hope." Both shake their heads.

"No. But it was close." Lee watches me.

"What about everyone else?" I sigh.

"Chouji and Neji should be en route to the village. Kankuro is with Kiba and Akamaru; most likely they'll shortly be heading to the village as well. Temari and Shikamaru are en route to the village. The only one I haven't caught up with yet is Naruto. And apparently, all of the enemies are dead. And I didn't get to do anything either. So boring." Gaara smirks.

"Heh, if the stubborn bastard hadn't died at the last second, we'd be dead." I roll my eyes.

"I highly doubt that. Severely injured, maybe, but probably not dead." Gaara raises…well he doesn't have eyebrows…but if he had them, I'm sure that they'd be raised…his tattoo is crinkling with the effort.

"You have a lot of confidence." I smirk.

"I've fought against you before, remember? It's not that hard to figure out how strong a person is that way." A signal sounds—a combination of cat and dog. I look towards the sound and take off. I bump into Kakashi on the way and nod slightly.

"You trailing them too?" I nod once.

"Yea." We get to a valley and I get to Naruto first. Automatically, I check him.

"Well?" I shake my head.

"Some pretty bad injuries, it'll take a while to heal. Most of the physical damage is to the muscles in his arms and legs. A severe wearing down of chakra as well. And three ribs broken. Otherwise, just a lot of cuts. Sora!" She runs over.

"Hai?" I sigh.

"Track down Sasuke." She narrows her eyes and her ears lay back.

"It'll be difficult. It rained in this area recently. The water has concealed his scent." I frown.

"Try, please." She sighs.

"Hai." She runs off and Kakashi picks up Naruto.

"Are you coming?" I shake my head.

"I'm going to wait and see if Sora makes any progress." Kakashi nods slightly.

"Okay." Kakashi runs off and I wait. It starts raining and I sigh. Sora comes back.

"Sorry, I lost the trail." I smile slightly.

"It's okay. Go home." She disappears and I turn, running to the village.

"Yami-san!" A pair of medics. I sigh.

"What?"

"Kakashi-san said that you were tracking Uchiha Sasuke?" I nod.

"Yes. The trail was lost in the rain. What is the situation with the others?"

"Hai. The scattered Genin have been taken to Konoha for treatment. Are you aware of the injuries?" I nod again.

"Yes. Akimichi Chouji and Hyuuga Neji. What are their current situations?"

"They are in critical condition, and receiving emergency treatment. The Hyuuga is lucky you were trailing them. Most likely, by the time aid arrived, he would have been dead." I sigh.

"Okay." I speed up and we get to the village quickly, with me continuing my run straight to the hospital. First, I go to the wing where Shikamaru is waiting with Temari. "Any word on Chouji's condition?" Shikamaru shakes his head.

"No." I frown.

"How about Neji?" He sighs.

"Not a clue." I nod and turn around, to go check on Naruto. I sense Minako and go to her location, curious.

"What's up, Minako?" She watches me worriedly.

"Neji…what happened to him?" I shrug.

"Not sure. When I found him, he was out, near death, with a hole in the left side of his chest and the right side of his stomach. The only thing I was able to do on scene was stop the bleeding." She nods.

"That's good. I'd be pissed if my stupid little brother were to die." I raise an eyebrow.

"Brother?" She nods slowly.

"Yea. I'm two years older than he is. But I guess I'm not much of a big sister. He was holding that grudge against our uncle for so long and I didn't even realize it. I could have explained to him what happened back then." I smile slightly and touch her shoulder lightly.

"Don't worry about it, Minako. The past is past." Shizune runs out of the room and down the hall. She's excited. Minako and I stand in the doorway of the room and I notice a tear threatening to spill out of her eyes.

"Don't worry. He'll be fine." Minako laughs once in relief and starts crying.

"Thank God…" I pat her back uncertainly.

"Minako, we should get out of the way so they can get him in a room." She nods and we step out of the way. The moment the medics run out and down the hall with Neji on a gurney, Minako starts after them. I sigh and head up to where Naruto is. I knock on the door and go in. "Hey."

"Where were you? You missed out." I laugh.

"I was on my own mission. I got back and heard from Sakura. By the time I caught up, it was over. You guys took all the fun parts." Naruto laughs slightly and winces.

"How about everyone else?" I smile slightly.

"Safe." Shikamaru walks in.

"Hey Shikamaru!" I lean on the wall.

"So…everyone's safe. That's good…" Shikamaru frowns.

"And Sasuke…" Naruto nods slightly.

"Yea…" I sigh.

"He got away…" I hear walking outside and glance at the door. Sounds like Tsunade.

"What's wrong? You're Haruno Sakura right? The information sure has spread quickly…" The door opens and Sakura and Tsunade walk in. I straighten up and wave, leaving.

"See you." I head home and sit on my bed.


	23. Notice

**HIATUS/REWRITE NOTICE**

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! Rewrite Notice !

Because I have been improving my writing style and I am dissatisfied with the current state of the following stories:

Cherry Blossom's Late Bloom, Dark Blade, Digital Dream, Eagle Spark, Emily and the Olympians (To be retitled 'Raising a Hero'), Lost in Spira (To be retitled 'The Secret Summoner'), Narissa and the Olympians (To be retitled 'Unwilling Hero'), Sword Transcending Time (To be retitled 'Queen Blades'), Tsubasa no Tenshi Angel Wings (To be retitled 'Tenshi no Tsubasa o'), Yuuki's Story

I'm rewriting them from almost scratch. I am also re-playing/reading/watching the series this is based on so as to be more accurate in non-au situations.

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! Hiatus Notice !

Because I'm either rewriting the story or it's on my hard drive that is currently out of commission, all of my stories except completed stories and:

Tails of a Copy Cat

Are on hiatus until further notice. I promise that I will have my hard drive fixed as soon as possible so I can get back to work on my older stories.

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! THIS CHAPTER WILL BE DELETED WHEN I ADD NEW CONTENT !


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